Bird of Prey
by Z98
Summary: After suffering a Tiberium infection in his wound, Private Wilhelm Fedyrich of the GDI must adapt to the life of being a mutant. When he falls in with the Forgotten, he finds a new people to belong to.
1. Chapter 1

Absolutely no guarantee that I'll get anywhere with this. This is an experiment at best. By the way, is it so much to ask for proper formatting? The C&C section of is still lacking in this department.

The Bird of Prey

Chapter 1: The Eagle Has Landed

The impact rocked the ground and threw dirt in the air. Five more missiles came crashing down as the GDI soldier tried to roll out of the way. Whether it was luck or skill that got him through it he didn't know. As the Nod infantry advanced Private Wilhelm Feydrich opened fire and his pulse rifle caught several of them by surprise. He saw two Nod soldiers go down and the others duck for cover. This wouldn't last long so Wilhelm went down on his stomach and started crawling again.

The infrared sensor on his helmet was the only thing keeping him from getting lost. He took the time to glance back and noticed several more Nod soldiers approaching. One saw him but Wilhelm fired first. Two bursts put his enemy down for good. Just then two more enemy units went down screaming. Wilhelm looked around but didn't see anyone around him. He decided to use the opportunity to escape and did so. A flash caught his eye and mere moments later another Nod soldier went down. Now the young GDI soldier had hope. Friendly units were providing sniper cover, and he just prayed that they wouldn't mistake him for the enemy.

After crawling over a small hill the soldier rolled down and peeked up. Despite his minor successes, Nod troops were still here in force and he was outnumbered and slowly being hunted down. Three enemy soldiers came marching forward though they were a bit more cautious this time. Wilhelm took aim and opened fire. The crackling of his rifle alerted them to his position but one was hit immediately. He shifted his aim and another soldier went down but the rifle suddenly stopped.

"Bloody," Wilhelm swore.

The rifle had jammed at the worst possible time and his pistol didn't have the range to hit the last enemy soldier. The last thing he could do was run, and run he did.

Screams came from behind him and sporadic fire went past him. Yet again and again his backup continued to pick off the enemy with a sniper rifle. Finally a silence fell upon the battlefield and Wilhelm crouched behind a large stone. He peered out and saw flickers of movement on the battlefield but they seemed confused and erratic. Again he tried to radio.

"This is Gamma 325 calling to any GDI units in the area. Respond."

The hiss of static answered him. Not wasting any more time, Wilhelm continued his escape. Fortunately he came upon a few more bodies and picked up a new rifle. After checking that it still worked, he picked up some more ammo and went on his way. He was in no man's land and until he got out there was no such thing as safety. Of course, once he left, sanctuary might not be present either.

Despite all this he wasn't out of the woods yet. Buzzing suddenly came and Wilhelm knew what that meant. Nod forces were deploying their buggies. Whoever was supporting him with the sniper rifle wouldn't be much help now unless they somehow managed to take out the driver. His rifle wouldn't do much good either at the moment. He'd have to be creative. Wilhelm started running again until the sound of the buggies was almost upon him. He then chose another rock to hide behind and waited. Two of the Nod buggies shot past and continued on their way. It wouldn't take them long to figure out what had happened so he needed to make the best of it.

"Take this."

As the second buggy went past Wilhelm opened fire at its wheels. The bullets popped the tire immediately and it flipped over several times before coming to a rest. The other buggy turned and opened fire but Wilhelm had already rolled over to the other side of the rock. The bullets chipped off stone but didn't touch him. Then to his surprise the other buggy started skidding and crashed into a nearby tree. The thing erupted into flames and exploded seconds later. Apparently his sniper friend had decided to follow his tactic.

By now the Nod forces had probably moved on so he was safe for the moment. Wilhelm didn't let this momentary lapse in action stop him though and he began running out of the combat zone. Taking the time to use cover and watch his back, it took another ten minutes before he stopped seeing craters and broken bodies. Miraculously, several buildings outside the fighting area hadn't been hit. Some looked structurally sound so he headed towards one for shelter. However, the moment he stepped in, guns were pointing at him.

Wilhelm looked around and waited, knowing that if they wanted to kill him there was nothing he could do. One of the soldiers removed his helmet and Wilhelm's eyes adjusted slowly to the dimness. All of the soldiers here were Shiners. Mutants.

"So you were the one running away from Nod."

The other Shiners backed off but kept their guns leveled. A woman stepped forward carrying a high-powered sniper rifle. Apparently she was his guardian angel back on the battlefield.

"You fought well, for a grunt."

Wilhelm wasn't sure whether to take that as an insult or complement.

"So, who are you?"

"Wilhelm Feydrich."

"No rank?"

"My rank wouldn't mean much."

The woman smiled and nodded to another Shiner. He took Wilhelm's rifle, pistol, and knife. Without his weapons, the man felt naked.

"Take him to a holding cell for now," the woman ordered.

She turned away and two other Shiners grabbed Wilhelm's arms. With the adrenaline pushing him now completely gone, Wilhelm nearly collapsed, which resulted in more guns pointed at him. Blood dripped out of his mouth and a Shiner examined him.

"Looks like he was shot ma'am."

"Then patch him up," the woman ordered.

The Shiner shook his head. "Not sure how much good that'll do. There're traces of Tiberium in this wound."

That caught the attention of the others and the woman frowned.

"Clean the wound and do what you can. Well brother, it seems you may be joining us soon."

Wilhelm looked at the ragtag group of soldiers and frowned. He knew the effects that Tiberium could have on the human body, and it was that kind of death that scared a soldier like him. However, there was no way he would join these people. His loyalty was with GDI.

"You could just let me go on my way," Wilhelm said. "From what I've heard, I'll probably be dead anyways. No point in keeping me here."

"GDI can't do anything for you," the woman said. "They'll probably put you in a lab for study. Nod will just turn you into a Cyborg if they catch you alive, or kill you."

"Doesn't matter," said Wilhelm. "I'd rather take a chance on something I know about."

The woman seemed both impressed and scornful at the same time.

"Get him patched up," she ordered. "Keep him locked up but comfortable."

The Shiner nodded and with two others led Wilhelm out of the room. The GDI soldier knew not to resist. He had heard about the things Shiners did to enemy soldiers and now wasn't the time to try to escape. If he could gain their trust, perhaps that opportunity would arise later. All the better if they thought of him as a brother.

The infirmary they had wasn't exactly in the cleanest state. After they laid him down someone he assumed to be a doctor examined and cleaned his wound. He grunted a few times but otherwise fought down the pain. After a bandage was applied he was escorted to another building and placed in one of the cells. Wilhelm collapsed on the bed and closed his eyes. It had been a long day and he still needed the rest. Hopefully this area was safe enough for that at least.

Forgotten Outpost

The battle that had erupted between the European GDI and Nod forces had been fierce. While there were reports that the fighting had stretched from Sarajevo to Hammerfest, Rachel wasn't totally sure what to believe. The confrontation here could be deemed a Nod victory as they had just driven out the GDI units here. However, they forgot to contend with the fact that the Forgotten also had a foothold here. Fortunately Nod wasn't ready to advance so they had some time to evacuate.

"What do you think of our prisoner?"

The man behind Rachel was known as Titanous. He was one of the older mutants and a seasoned warrior. However, that meant his lifespan was also coming to an end.

"He may become useful. However, it'll take time for him to accept what is happening to him."

"Perhaps the hardest thing that he must accept is that GDI can do nothing for him."

Rachel nodded. Though many in the Forgotten considered GDI as an ally, they were still only the better of two evils.

"Perhaps I should talk to him," Rachel said.

"He'll come around eventually," said Titanous. "No point in pushing him."

Rachel turned and started walking. "That doesn't mean I still can't talk to him. Besides, he did kill Nod."

Titanous kept his solemn face still and said nothing as Rachel walked out of the room. Sometimes she could be too compassionate, though he still respected her as a commander. Rachel looked out for those under her care and had gained the loyalty of many who fought under her. Perhaps she could convince this GDI soldier as well.

Wilhelm had been eating when he heard the activity outside. He didn't pay it any attention and continued his meal. It was some kind of meat with paste, along with a bit of rice. In other words, the Forgotten had given him a GDI MRE ration. He sighed and tasted the mystery paste. If he remembered his initial training, the paste was basically artificial vegetables crushed together. Not very tasty but it was food none the less. When the door opened he just looked over and saw it was the woman from earlier. She sat down and didn't say anything, just watching him eat. After a few awkward moments a conversation began.

"How's the wound?"

Wilhelm shrugged. "Still hurts. Suppose it'll keep on hurting until the hole closes."

"So what do you think of the food?"

"I'm wondering where you got GDI issued rations."

Rachel smiled. "I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Rachel."

"Hmm. Rachel from the bible?"

This time it was Rachel that shrugged. "My mother gave me the name. I don't know why."

Wilhelm didn't press it as that probably meant she was dead.

"So how did you end up here?"

"You had me thrown in here."

"Please, Herr Feydrich. It's pointless to be playing games. This war certainly isn't one."

Wilhelm stopped eating and leaned against the wall. There was no point in being cold towards these people. Rachel had saved his life after all.

"My unit was assigned to engage one of Nod's regular divisions," Wilhelm began. "We had expected their forces to collapse quickly as we outnumbered them."

Rachel smiled. "I see. And when your forces encountered Black Hand units, your attack collapsed."

"Hardly. We didn't face any Black Hand forces. We actually got defeated by the cyborgs."

That was something Rachel wasn't aware of.

"There are cyborg units here?"

Wilhelm nodded. "Wait, there are Black Hand units here?"

"So we both know something the other didn't. However, the cyborgs are bigger problems at the moment."

"Well, you Shiners are pretty well equipped. You shouldn't have any problems dealing with them."

Rachel frowned. "You certainly have a lot of confidence in us. And don't call us Shiners."

"Fine."

Neither had anything else to say for a bit and Wilhelm resumed his meal.

"So. How bad did the Tiberium affect me?" he finally asked.

"You suffered a large dose," Rachel replied. "It was just short of lethal and is already starting to affect your system."

"Hmm. So, how long do I have?"

"A few years, we think. It's not as bad as you might have heard. Only sometimes."

"Well, I'm like you people now. But I'm still going to try to get back to GDI."

"Are you sure you want to?" Rachel asked.

"Hmm?"

"You're different now. A mutant in the eyes of your fellow humans. It won't be the same."

Wilhelm chewed thoughtfully as he considered the words.

"And you would know from personal experience?"

"Of course."

"So why help me? I was just like another human. I considered you a Shiner, discriminated against your people."

"And now you're one of us. But we're different. Just because you hated or feared us before doesn't matter. We take care of our own."

"That still doesn't stop me from being GDI."

Rachel sighed. "Cling to your loyalties as long as you want. You'll find that GDI is no better than Nod in many ways. They don't care about us. All either side cares about is how to maintain control over their respective territories."

"We're trying to keep humanity free," Wilhelm insisted.

"You joined GDI because you believed that? And you still believe that? You must not have seen that much action."

Wilhelm put down the plate and looked out the window.

"I've seen plenty. And maybe it's because I have seen what Nod's capable of that I want to stop them."

Rachel smiled at him and knocked on the door. The guard opened it to let her out.

"We have more in common than you think, Herr Wilhelm. For that, I'll see about getting you back to your precious GDI."

The door slammed shut and Wilhelm laid down on the bed. He stared at the ceiling and wondered why he had such bad luck. Only time would tell. Without anything else to do, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

The Next Day

Morning came quicker than Wilhelm expected and he felt groggy as the sunlight struck his eyes. He walked around a bit to stretch and waited for breakfast to come. Instead, the door opened and the guard motioned for him to come out.

"What's this, I get a walk too?"

"Funny," the mutant said. "Get your ass moving, grunt. We're leaving this dump and for some reason the commander wants you to come with us. Me, I'd just leave you to rot until Nod came to pick you up."

"You seem to be forgetting. Apparently I'm a mutant now too."

"I see you really are a funny guy. Listen, grunt. Until you learn how to kill Nod with your bare hands, you're not one of us."

As they came outside Wilhelm watched as the mutants moved about. A good deal of equipment was being loaded onto buses and vans while others piled into old APCs.

"You people really do have a lot of hardware."

"You and Nod do a good job of killing each other," the guard said. "Leaves a lot of goodies for us."

"I didn't know you mutants had a sweet tooth."

"I didn't know you Germans had a sense of humor."

"Oh we had one. It left us after what Nod did to Berlin."

For the first time the mutant guard seemed to acknowledge him as a fellow human being. Or would that be as a brother mutant? Wilhelm was put into one of the buses and the convoy was soon off. He watched the landscape pass by and wondered if he would ever see his family again. But of course, they would have to deal with the fact that he was a mutant. It probably wouldn't be safe for them to see him anyways.

The forest they were driving through had been thoroughly infested with Tiberium. Crystal shards littered the roads and crunched as the vehicles ran them over. Because of the remoteness, the roads were in horrible shape and Wilhelm wondered how the vehicles were maintained for all this. Of course wondering was pointless as they probably wouldn't tell him. The ride was long and by the time they stopped Wilhelm was nursing a sore bum after all the bumps. The mutant guard just laughed.

"You ain't one of us until you learn to handle it like a man."

The bus went bump again and both men nearly fell out of their seats.

"What the hell was that?"

"Trouble," the mutant guard said.

The convoy screeched to a halt and soldiers started piling out. Wilhelm peered out the back of the bus and saw what looked like Nod infantry advancing upon them. Firefights broke out all around the men and they tried to hold the line. Guns mounted on the various vehicles were turned back to help suppress the attackers and ended up routing most of the incoming Nod infantry. However, they weren't the biggest problem.

"Cyborgs!"

Sure enough the lumbering monstrosities of human and machine came forward. They opened fire with their chain guns and tore through several defenders.

"Give me a rifle," Wilhelm said.

The mutant guard just stared at him.

"Goddamn it, give me a bloody rifle! I'm more use out there fighting than in here watching, and you're more use out there than babysitting me!"

Finally the guard opened up one of the packs and threw him a rifle. It looked like a mix of a GDI and Nod pulse rifle but he shrugged. If it worked, that was fine. The two men came out and opened fire, concentrating on only one of the cyborgs. They went for headshots as that was where the control unit was. Wilhelm and his guard ducked immediately as bullets sprayed over their head and nailed the bus they were just in. After shooting and ducking for a bit missiles started pouring out against the cyborgs. One took three in the chest and was blown in half. Its upper body continued to crawl and leak Tiberium fluids but a few more shots from Wilhelm put it down for good. Then a beam of light shot past them and blew apart another cyborg. The remaining mutants rallied and fought back the cyborgs with the heavy weapons support from back. The smoke cleared and the result of the skirmish was there for all to see.

"You might just be one of us," the guard said grudgingly.

"You want your rifle back?"

The mutant shook his head. "Keep it. You might need it again someday."

Wilhelm looked around and several of the mutants seemed a bit more approving of him. Well, nothing created bonds faster than sharing danger together. He then noticed an older mutant that was cradling a weird looking gun. Wilhelm searched his memory but couldn't remember anything like this in the briefings.

"So now what?"

"Now we salvage what we can," the guard said, "then get the hell out of here."

Wilhelm had no objections to that. He helped load some of the equipment and in maybe an hour they were off again. This time there were no more attacks on them and they reached their destination safely.

To his surprise the entire convoy had stopped at a large GDI base. He saw dozens of soldiers walking around either on patrol or just taking a break. Several Titans were moving into a hanger and he saw sparks fly out as they did maintenance.

"Well, you got what you wished for."

"Indeed. So, you're going to let me go?"

Rachel shrugged. "See, here's the thing. I talked to the base commander and he said that your entire unit was destroyed. You're listed as MIA since they didn't find a body. If you go back, you probably will be placed in a research facility. If you stay with us, well, we aren't sure what to do with you yet."

"And yet I'm a soldier. You people could always use more soldiers, especially since you fight so much."

"There's that. It's your choice, Herr Feydrich."

Wilhelm watched the GDI base and all its activity. He had been a part of it once, but of course now he felt disconnected. Becoming a mutant meant that he really didn't have much of a choice.

"How long are we going to be here?" Wilhelm asked.

"A few hours at least. We need to load quite a bit in terms of supplies."

"Then I'd like to at least report in on what happened to my unit."

Rachel nodded. "Very well then. Come with me."

The two walked through the base and Wilhelm took note of the GDI soldiers and officers. Most of them gave them looks while others avoided them completely. Was this the way he had treated mutants in the past? It would certainly explain the scorn mutants felt towards regular humans. They were allowed through by the guards but it was clear the GDI soldiers weren't too happy having the Forgotten inside their base. Another soldier showed them to the base commander's office and went in before them. A few seconds later he reappeared and held the door for them.

The man sitting behind the desk was in his late forties, but still had the look of a warrior. He was already standing when they entered.

"Welcome to Normandy Base. I am Colonel Armstrong."

Rachel nodded. "I am Rachel of the Forgotten. This is Private Wilhelm of the GDI."

Wilhelm stepped forward and saluted smartly. "Private Wilhelm Feydrich, of the 82nd Wehrmacht Division."

The name of Wilhelm's unit caught Armstrong's attention and he nodded.

"Well, I see at least one of you survived. The rest of your unit wasn't so fortunate."

"Yes sir."

"Very well then. Thank you for returning Private Wilhelm to us. You have our gratitude, Rachel."

"There is something else," Rachel said quickly before Armstrong could dismiss them. "Private Feydrich has been in contact with Tiberium. An almost lethal dose."

Armstrong froze for a second before looking over Wilhelm. There were no visible signs of Tiberium infection, though that didn't mean anything right now. If the exposure was recent enough, it would take a few days before any signs became visible to the human eye.

"We'll have to get you to a treatment center," Armstrong said immediately. "Private Feydrich, you are relieved of your duties for the time being and will report to the infirmary."

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think there's any way to cure me," Wilhelm replied, surprising the colonel again. "And I wasn't born to be a lab rat for people to study"

Armstrong frowned and leaned forward, his hands pressed against the desk.

"Son, you're assuming a lot here. First, you're assuming the amount of Tiberium you were exposed to will cause permanent damage. Second, you're assuming we're going to treat you like a lab rat. We're GDI, and we look after our own. Hell, you're a soldier and you should know that by now."

"I'm also now a mutant," Wilhelm said calmly. "I'm sorry Colonel, but I cannot see how I can be of any use to GDI anymore. I may be a soldier, but I could also endanger those unaffected by Tiberium. Also, there is no point for me to seek treatment as nothing GDI has developed can possibly help me right now."

"So you're going to desert?"

Wilhelm shook his head. "No sir. I believe you relieved me of duty just a minute ago. Besides, I'll be more help out there fighting Nod then sitting in some hospital."

Armstrong seemed to consider his words before looking over at Rachel.

"Can you excuse us for a moment?" he asked.

Rachel nodded. "Of course. However, Wilhelm is a mutant now, and we consider him one of our own."

"That is already quite clear," Armstrong said dryly.

With that Rachel walked out of the office and closed the door. Armstrong turned back to Wilhelm with his frown.

"You're putting me in an odd situation, soldier," he said. "This has never happened in the history of GDI. Every officer ever contaminated by Tiberium has trusted the organization to look after him, and yet you're refusing treatment. I can understand your desire to continue the fight, and I can also understand your desire to not want to be a test subject for whatever treatment our doctors and scientists think might work. But I may very well have to order you to comply."

Wilhelm said nothing. After a few seconds of silence, Armstrong continued.

"However, you are also providing me with a unique opportunity of sorts."

Wilhelm frowned. "Sir?"

"As far as I know, no GDI officer has ever joined the Forgotten. At least none that we know of. I'm not too concerned about you revealing any information to them. Any technical information you might know, they probably already figured out. However, if you were to go with the Forgotten, you could be our eyes and ears."

This was starting to sound worse and worse, Wilhelm realized. The Forgotten had saved him and offered him a place to go, though they obviously had their own motives. Now Colonel Armstrong wanted him to spy on them?

"You get what I'm saying?"

"Yes sir," Wilhelm reluctantly replied.

"Good. Then I'll let you go, but I'll expect you to send reports to me regularly."

"And how am I to do that, sir?"

"Simple," said Armstrong. "GDI forces send supplies to the mutants on a regular basis. Simply give your report to the senior officer, and he'll get it back to me. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

Armstrong nodded, satisfied. "Very well then. Officially, you'll be listed as KIA, unofficially you'll be working through the GDI Special Warfare Division. Is that understood, Private?"

Wilhelm nodded. "Yes sir. May I ask a question sir?"

"Go ahead."

"Why is it necessary to maintain watch over the Forgotten? Are they not our allies?"

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Armstrong replied. "But what if we don't know whether they're friends or enemies? That is the current dilemma we in GDI face. Though the Forgotten seem to consider us as allies, we don't know where their true loyalties lie. That's what I want you to find out."

"Yes sir."

"Very well then, Private. Dismissed."

"Sir!" Wilhelm saluted and walked out of the room.

Rachel was leaning against the wall and straightened when he came out. She nodded and Wilhelm followed her once again back to the others. Most of the work had been done so the convoy was getting ready to leave.

"So. Will you be coming with us?" Rachel asked.

Wilhelm nodded. "There really isn't a place for me here anymore. I might as well accept my fate."

A disappointed sound came from Rachel and Wilhelm looked over at her.

"We don't accept our fate," she said. "That's why we fight with all our might."

With that she pointed Wilhelm to one of the buses and he walked over. As he climbed on, Wilhelm considered Armstrong's words. He had said they didn't know where the Forgotten stood, but there was a certain honor to these people. Maybe he would learn something from them. Wilhelm took one last look at the GDI base, one last look at his former life, and watched as it faded away as the bus drove off.

End of Chapter 1

A perspective of a mutant regarding the war between Nod and GDI. Well, not a real mutant, but someone that is becoming one. It should be interesting to explore this.

Z98


	2. Chapter 2

Just a note. As this is written from a European perspective, for you Americans, keep in mind that when I refer to football, it's to European football. By the way, I'm not European.

Chapter 2: Hawkeye

Northern France could be a rather gloomy place, especially with Tiberium disrupting the normal weather patterns. Then again, those that remembered the old days before Tiberium claimed the only difference was the alien material itself, not the weather. Wilhelm shifted uneasily in his old uniform, though the GDI patch had been ripped off by another one of the mutants. He looked out the window of the bus and sighed. It had been only three days, but the Forgotten had done nothing but travel. This area was considered secure by GDI so there was little possibility of Nod forces trying to ambush them.

Without warning, the convoy veered off the main road and started driving through the buses. Wilhelm frowned but didn't ask any questions. The mutants would either tell him where they were going or let him see for himself. More likely the latter would happen. It took possibly another hour before the bumpy ride ended and the convoy entered a large camp of some sort. As Wilhelm looked out the window, he saw children running around playing football while heavily armed adults walked about. It was a strange sight, seeing both peace and war so close together. When the trucks stopped, the returning soldiers were greeted with a hero's welcome as mutants came forward to greet their brothers and sisters. Wilhelm again felt out of place, being the newest mutant in this group. He stayed back and did his best to avoid contact with the civilians and other mutant soldiers. The only people he really knew were the mutants that had traveled with him so far.

"Hey."

Wilhelm almost jumped but turned around to find Rachel standing behind him.

"Yes ma'am?"

Rachel frowned. "No need to be so formal, Wilhelm. You did ask me to call you by your name, remember?"

"Of course. Sorry."

"Well, I suppose I should welcome you to our little home."

Wilhelm looked around and noticed the many buildings erected. This place was the closest thing he'd seen to a mutant settlement in all his life.

"You people certainly did a good job of hiding this town. I don't think GDI ever noticed it."

"And we'd like to keep it that way," said Rachel. "Just because we're allies doesn't mean we want GDI to know everything about us."

Wilhelm shrugged. "You can stop preaching to me already. Look, I know GDI let you people down a lot, but that doesn't mean you have to scorn them forever."

"At the moment, the reason we are allied with GDI is because they fight Nod. There really isn't any other reason why we should trust them."

Wilhelm sighed and shook his head. "And yet you let me join your little army."

"That is because now you are one of us,"

"Am I? Am I really?"

For a moment Rachel couldn't answer him and Wilhelm turned away. He walked over to some of the other mutants and started helping them unload their loot. For now he'd make himself useful and wait for the Forgotten to stuff him somewhere.

A few hours later, after exhausting himself with the work, Wilhelm noticed blood seeping through the bandage again. He'd reopened the wound with all his activity and he pointed it out to one of the other mutants. The soldier immediately took him to what passed as the hospital. Inside, Wilhelm saw the most tragic place he had ever encountered in his life. Dozens of children were lying on the chairs, some asleep while others were crying. All of them had mutations of some sort, and three had greatly disfigured body parts. Wilhelm had seen his fellow soldiers killed and maimed in battle, but all of them had known the risks and fought willingly to preserve their way of life. Here were children, innocents, that suffered because of this never-ending conflict between GDI and Nod. This was the face of war that soldiers tried their hardest to avoid.

"Something wrong?" the mutant asked him.

Wilhelm nodded towards the children. "Why isn't anything done to help them?"

"What can we do? Our best doctors struggle to even keep these children alive. If we were to ask GDI for help, these children would be separated from their parents and attended by scientists, not doctors."

"And yet when I see these children, I see them as humans that are suffering needlessly. Don't you think there are humans that would think the same way as me?"

The mutant shrugged. "I'm sure there are, but I ain't trusting some random human to look after our kids. We watch out for our own and that's not about to change anytime soon."

"So do we."

The statement caused his escort to raise an eyebrow. "Is that why you are among us now, Monsieur Feydrich?"

Having no answer, Wilhelm shrugged. He sat down and waited for a few minutes before another mutant came out and showed him in. The man then left to take care of his other duties. Wilhelm spent the time looking around the room, a simple place with an examination table, a desk, and a chair. There were no medical supplies visible, and no poster of the human body. Practical and not very showy. But this time, the room was clean. That was a positive sign. A few minutes later and a doctor walked in. Wilhelm looked over the agitated woman as she brushed aside several strands of her messy hair. The doctor seemed to be a bit older than Wilhelm himself, possibly in her late twenties. At her side was a suitcase of some sort.

"All right, let's have a look," she said quickly.

Wilhelm wasn't too sure what to do and just stared at her.

"Look soldier, I have work to do, so show me where you're hurt so I can take care of it."

Reluctantly, Wilhelm took off his body armor and showed the patch covering his wound. The woman shook her head and opened the suitcase. She took out a pair of scissors and cut off the bandages to reveal the still-bleeding wound.

"How long as it been like this?" she asked.

"Maybe an hour at most," Wilhelm replied. "I probably reopened it helping to unload the trucks."

The doctor shook her head and applied a swath with alcohol on it over the wound. Wilhelm winced but refrained from crying out in pain. After she had cleaned the wound, the doctor took out more bandages and covered it.

"There's nothing I can do about the Tiberium," she said. "However, I suggest you rest for a few days and let that heal as best as it can."

"Thanks," Wilhelm muttered.

"No problem," the doctor said as she packed up. "Just don't make me have to do that again."

She closed her briefcase and turned to leave.

"So what's your name?" Wilhelm asked as he put his shirt back on.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"It's not like I know anyone else here," said Wilhelm. "I'm a newcomer after all."

After a few seconds an answer came. "Grace Rossignol."

With those words Grace walked out the door and closed it behind her. Wilhelm frowned as he finished dressing. He folded his armor and slung his rifle over his shoulder. Knowing a bit of French from his time in Paris, he knew that her last name translated to Nightingale. He also knew from the time he spent in the US that another woman with the last name of Nightingale had pioneered medical standards in sanitation. It was an interesting coincidence.

Wilhelm walked out of the hospital and hoped that he would never have to return. It wasn't just about avoiding getting wounded, it was also the fact that he wasn't sure he could face all those children again. As a soldier, he had seen plenty of death before and it had seen him too. However, the worst he ever had to endure was seeing the death of comrades. Somehow, seeing these children on the verge of death with no hope seemed worse.

At the moment, Wilhelm had other things to worry about, namely where he was supposed to stay. He wandered back to the mutants he had come in with and found the man that had acted as more or less his babysitter for the entire trip.

"Axel."

The mutant looked over from his conversation and nodded in greeting.

"I see you've been patched up again, Wilhelm. Feeling better?"

The German nodded. "Yeah, that doctor is pretty good."

"Good looking too," another mutant muttered.

The men erupted into laughter for a few seconds and Wilhelm began feeling more at home in this strange place. At least all soldiers were alike.

"A question though," Wilhelm said. "Where am I supposed to stay?"

"Hmm. Actually, I don't know," Axel admitted. "C'mon, let's see if there's somewhere we can stash you."

Axel nodded to his friends and led the way through the small city.

"How many people live here?" Wilhelm asked as they walked.

"I'm not sure," Axel replied. "It's about a thousand, and that's as far as I know. We've never done a census before. No point to it really, since we don't live for too long anyways."

Such a sensitive issue, their predetermined death. And yet they spoke of it so much.

"People die all the time, and yet we still try to keep records," said Wilhelm.

"Yeah well, it's a bad idea for us. If any such report got into the hands of Nod or GDI, it would only cause more trouble for us."

Wilhelm conceded the point, though he was unsure how GDI could use the information to the disadvantage of the Forgotten. Perhaps these people were just being paranoid. He continued to think things over as they navigated through the encampment. Here and there Wilhelm saw healthier children attended by mutant adults, but again there were instances of weaker mutants simply sitting on what could be called porches. These people might not have running water, but they made the best of it and managed to survive day to day.

The streets weren't exactly clean, with garbage everywhere. A few Tiberium plants dotted the streets but otherwise not too much was visible besides the shacks. Even deep within this settlement, soldiers walked in pairs. They were both the police and the defenders of this city.

"Here we are."

The two men stopped in front of a slightly larger shack.

"This is where our town hall is. Or the equivalent. They'll find you a place to stay."

"What should I tell them?"

"Just say you came in with Rachel's unit," Axel replied. "That you're a newcomer that can fight. They'll find somewhere to put you."

"Okay. Thanks, Axel."

The mutant nodded and walked off. Wilhelm took a deep breath and pushed the door open. He stepped into a surprisingly well-lit room with a few people working at some desks. He walked over to one of them and cleared his throat.

"I'm a newcomer from Rachel's unit," he began. "I don't-"

"We heard you were coming," the man interrupted. "Here, this is where you'll be staying at."

Wilhelm took the piece of paper and read it. It was an address, but he had no idea how this place was laid out so he looked quizzically at the man.

"Just ask one of the soldiers and they'll give you directions," the man said.

With that Wilhelm left the building, slightly confused but now having a place to go. The first soldier he asked gave him simple directions and after a few minutes of searching he found himself almost back to where he had originally entered the city. A few houses down from the hospital, Wilhelm found the address he was looking for and knocked. An older mutant answered and looked him over.

"So you're the newcomer," he said. "From Rachel's unit, right?"

Wilhelm nodded.

"Come in, come in."

The young man walked in and took a look around. The place was more or less clean, though bits and pieces were strewn about. Organization didn't seem to be a priority.

"My name's Wilhelm."

"I'm Gerald. My daughter will be home soon, but for now make yourself at home. We all have to look out for each other."

"Your daughter?"

Gerald chuckled. "Well, not my biological daughter. More like my adopted daughter. Even if we had children, precious few of them survive to adulthood."

Wilhelm nodded and took a seat. He put his rifle down and looked around the home. There wasn't much in the way of decoration, not like the mutants had that kind of luxury.

"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing here," said Wilhelm. "I mean, I just came in. I don't know how I can help or anything like that."

"Hmm. There's been talk of keeping you in Rachel's unit," said Gerald. "Of course, that's what I assume is going to happen. You were GDI, correct?"

Reluctantly, Wilhelm nodded. It felt painful to admit that he was no longer part of that organization. It was as if a part of him had died.

"Well, then you'll probably be helping train some of our troops. You have to keep in mind that the Forgotten is more of a militia than a real army. You have expertise that some of the commanders will want."

"Is that it?"

Gerald shrugged. "I'm speculating right now. But then again, you might also go on raids to fight Nod. I'm sure that won't be too different from what you did before."

Wilhelm grunted. "Is there a life outside of fighting for you people?"

"Remember, you're one of us now. As for a life away from fighting, well, we built this settlement, didn't we? We manage to get food, didn't we? To answer your question, there is a life outside of fighting. My daughter and I live one. However, it is the soldiers that protect us from Nod, and we try to support them any way we can."

"I see. What do you do for a living then?"

"I'm a miner. We work to harvest the Tiberium east of here. GDI trades the processed metal with us for guns, food, medicine, and fuel, and it's another way we continue on living."

Wilhelm nodded. It made sense that even the Forgotten would need to harvest the very element that was killing them in order to survive. But then again, that was the curse of Tiberium. It provided people with a way to gain access to everything they needed, while also raining down death and destruction wherever it went. How long could humanity survive in such a place?

"Do you have any scientists?" Wilhelm asked. "You people must know quite a bit about Tiberium."

Gerald nodded. "Oh, we have our bright minds too. They work to study Tiberium the best they can, though they don't exactly work here. But there'll be more time to ask questions later. Come, you need some rest. We have a spare bed that you can use."

"Thanks," Wilhelm said.

There was no running water so Wilhelm just doused himself with a bucket as Gerald suggested. After changing into a pair of semi-clean shirts, Wilhelm collapsed on the cot and sighed. After everything that had happened, a good night's rest was the last thing he should put off.

A loud knock woke Wilhelm up in the middle of the night, or at least he assumed it was late. The room was almost pitch black and it took a few seconds for me to reorient himself. He heard the voice of a woman in the other room and wandered over to the door. Wilhelm opened it a crack and peered outside. To his surprise, the young doctor that had treated him was standing in the living room, talking with Gerald. Was this the girl that was supposedly his adopted daughter? Well, more like young woman. Wilhelm listened for a few seconds but couldn't make out anything. It probably didn't involve him so he went back to bed.

The second time Wilhelm woke up, it was to sunbeams shining upon his face. He quickly rolled over and groaned. The wound ached but at least it was still sealed. Wilhelm put on his armor and picked up his rifle. Hopefully he could find Rachel and find out what the hell his job was going to be. He hated sitting around doing nothing.

"Good morning Wilhelm," Gerald greeted the young man as he walked out of the room.

"Good morning sir."

"How did you sleep?"

"Well enough," Wilhelm replied. "I think I heard your daughter coming back."

Gerald nodded. "Yes, she came back to get some sleep before heading back to work."

"She's a doctor, right?"

The comment surprised Gerald, but he nodded. "Yes. Grace is one of best doctors, and she labors most of the day on the many patients we have. How did you know?"

"She treated my wound yesterday," Wilhelm explained. "I don't doubt her skill, but she must have a lot on her shoulders."

"But of course. This entire settlement only has five doctors, and all of them work hard to care for their people. It's a painful life, as they cannot truly cure us. Only prolong the inevitable."

Wilhelm frowned and moved over to Gerald. The soldier took a seat in front of his host and stared at him.

"Herr Gerald, a question. Has no one ever survived Tiberium infection?"

"How do you define survive?" Gerald countered. "I am alive, you are alive. The children at the hospital are alive. And yet their existence is more or less a near-death state. As for if anyone has managed to live a healthy life after being exposed to lethal amounts of Tiberium, no. I am one of the oldest, and I have been living with Tiberium for over ten years. I was in my thirties when I was first exposed and I doubt I have more than a few more years."

"Why do you say that?"

Gerald smiled sadly. "Another reason Grace comes home is to give me a check-up. My health has been deteriorating for the past year, and I am losing strength. But then again, perhaps it is my time to leave this life and move on."

Wilhelm couldn't find anything that seemed appropriate to say, so he remained silent. However, Gerald easily read his mind.

"I know what you're thinking. 'How long do I have?' Right?"

Ever so slowly, Wilhelm nodded.

"Well, I can provide some clues to that. It depends on a few things, of course. Your age, your health at the time of infection, the amount of Tiberium you were exposed to, and a few other variables. But you're still young and healthy. You'll probably survive as long as I have."

"That's still not very reassuring."

Gerald smiled gently at the response. "You learn to accept death, my boy, once you're as old as me."

"Funny. Rachel said it's because you people don't accept your fates that you fight so hard."

A laugh erupted from Gerald and he nodded. "That may be true, my boy. Now, join an old man for breakfast. You'll need your energy for the day."

"Thanks. Sorry for all the trouble."

"Don't mention it. Besides, you're one of us now."

One of us. So the mutants had accepted him as one of their own. Wilhelm felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Armstrong had told him to submit reports on the activities of these people. Could he really do that? He still felt bound to GDI, though they could no longer help him in any meaningful way. What was he to do? Then again, it didn't seem as if GDI knew about this settlement. How could he send a report anyways? This would have to be settled later.

Gerald took out two MREs and handed one to Wilhelm.

"We might not get a lot of variety, but we do get food."

"You people live a hard life. Do you really have enough food to feed everyone?"

"This settlement does," Gerald answered. "There are many other such encampments throughout the world. We're one of the more fortunate ones."

"I see."

"But don't worry too much about that right now, Wilhelm. Fill your stomach first."

Wilhelm opened the package and waited for things to heat up. Once that was done, he examined the contents. It was the chicken variation, and one that he could actually stand. There was talk of using artificially grown proteins and other such things for future MREs. Wilhelm wasn't sure what those things would taste like, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out. After eating the main meal, Wilhelm sampled the drink and sighed.

"Herr Gerald, a question."

"Yes?"

"What does the Forgotten think of GDI?"

Gerald put down his fork and rubbed his hands together.

"A tough question. There are those among us that believe GDI is no better than Nod. They most certainly didn't help us when we needed it. Nod preyed upon us, taking our people for use as raw material for their research programs. The experiments they did to our people caused the death of millions. GDI did nothing to help us, too worried about preserving those humans that hadn't been touched by Tiberium."

"And yet GDI is helping you now."

Gerald grinned and motioned to the rations.

"Their help comes with a price. It is because we fight against the Brotherhood that GDI is willing to help us. The rest of humanity probably doesn't give a damn about us."

The accusation was pointed and Wilhelm knew he couldn't deny it. During his childhood, his parents had always told him to stay away from anyone that showed signs of Tiberium poisoning. Many people were afraid of becoming like the mutants and there was a good deal of paranoia surrounding these people. But did that make them any less human? No, it didn't.

"Perhaps we can change that," said Wilhelm. "We must prove ourselves then."

"How much do we have to prove ourselves? We've killed hundreds, if not thousands of Nod soldiers. We've destroyed several of their outposts and even a few major installations. However, GDI still only sees us as tools, not full allies."

"Officially GDI has a treaty with the Forgotten," said Wilhelm. "But then again, I see your point. However, we have a greater chance of surviving in these Tiberium-infested lands. GDI needs us."

"That is somewhat true. But realize, if Nod is ever defeated, GDI will very likely abandon us as well. We're in a never-ending fight, not just for our lives. We are fighting for the rights that all humans have, but because we're mutants, many other people don't believe we deserve them."

"I see." Wilhelm finished his drink and put the cup down. "Thanks for breakfast, Gerald, but I should go find Rachel. I still have to figure out what I'm supposed to do around here."

Gerald nodded. "Of course. Just remember where this place is. You'll probably be staying here for a bit."

"I'll see you later."

Wilhelm left the little house and walked out into the open air. The morning was a bit chilly but everything was already abuzz. Several squadrons were already assembling and loading onto buses. Rachel was talking with some of the other soldiers and he walked over. After issuing a few other orders, Rachel turned to him.

"I see you're up."

"Yeah. So what am I supposed to do now? I am a soldier after all."

Rachel nodded to another soldier a few feet away.

"You'll be working with Elijah. He's the one that trains our soldiers. You were GDI trained, and there were a few things that you learned that we don't know about."

"So you want me to teach your people what I know?"

"Correct. We fight using guerilla tactics to fight, while GDI uses coordinated strikes. There are a few things you can learn from us, and a few things you can teach in the process."

"Very well then. If you don't mind me asking, where are you going?"

"We have some unfinished business with Nod."

Wilhelm nodded. That was hardly unexpected. The Forgotten fought everyday to stay alive. They also fought everyday to keep their freedom.

"Don't disappoint me," Rachel said.

"I'll try not to."

Rachel nodded and walked away towards the third bus. The soldiers followed her while the man she had called Elijah remained, standing over by some boxes. As they left, the buses kicked up dust from the unpaved roads and sped off. They disappeared into the Tiberium forest long after the roar of their engines went silence. Wilhelm walked over to Elijah and nodded at the man.

"So you're the GDI grunt," the mutant said. "Well, let's get going. We have a long day ahead of us and I intend to milk that little brain of yours for every bit of information you might have."

"And I intend to see what you Shiners are made out of."

Elijah grinned wildly and clapped Wilhelm on the shoulder.

"At least you have guts, grunt. Now c'mon."

The two men started hiking and walked out of the settlement. After a few minutes digging their way through the forage, the sound of gunshots could be heard. Wilhelm began to reach for his rifle but noticed that Elijah didn't seem concerned. They came upon a plain and Wilhelm looked down on a large shooting range. Dozens of mutants were training, practicing their skills. Most of them were in stationary positions, opening fire on moving targets.

"They seem to know what they're doing," Wilhelm noted.

"They'd better. I've been on their asses for about a month now."

"So what do you need me to teach them?"

"What I need you to teach is tactics, grunt. GDI is all about maneuver warfare. Well, we're about hit-and-run. The two are slightly different."

"That really isn't being specific," said Wilhelm.

Elijah snorted and turned to him. "Look grunt, the Forgotten doesn't fight large-scale battles, so we have very little experience in them. You on the other hand fought at a few major battles. What I want you to tell us is how to conduct those kinds of operations."

"I hope you're kidding," said Wilhelm. "I'm a private, not a sergeant or lieutenant. I have no experience leading men into large-scale battles."

"Then get some," said Elijah. "You have a good deal more experience with big maneuvers than we do since you took part in them. Just talk to those kids and tell them what you know, got it?"

Wilhelm nodded, not wanting to argue with the bigger mutant for much longer. The two men walked down towards the soldiers and firing quickly stopped when they came into view. All of the troops gathered together and remained silent, waiting for Elijah to speak.

"All right, listen up you grunts. Today we're going to start training for battle maneuvers. That means flanking, running, and basically trying to fight smart instead of charging head-on against our opponents. And the man that's going to be teaching all of you is standing right next to me. Now I'm sure a few of you have already heard about him. He's former GDI, so that means he went through their version of basic training and lived it. And that also means he's been trained in GDI's tactics. So all of you pay close attention to what he has to say, and learn from it. Do I make myself clear!"

Instead of hearing the yes sirs that Wilhelm had expected, most of the Forgotten simply nodded. These people didn't have that rigid of a command structure. Respect was earned, not given according to rank. That was admirable, but it also meant he would have to earn their respect before they really paid attention to him. Right now they did so because Elijah had ordered them to. He would prefer them to do so of their own will.

"Before I start," Wilhelm said, "I have a question for all of you. What is the most important thing for light infantry such as ourselves?"

No one tried to answer and Wilhelm shook his head.

"If you are to learn anything, you have to speak your mind," he stated. "Who here can do that?"

A few grunts and one of the Shiners stepped forward.

"It's killing before you get killed."

"Wrong," Wilhelm said immediately. "It's information. Information is the most important thing in any war no matter what. If you know where your enemies are, then you can hit them at weak points. If the enemy doesn't know where you are, they can't hit back. I believe you Forgotten are pretty good at that."

A few nods, a few more cold stares.

"Well, let's add to that, shall we? The Forgotten have always launched small attacks, strikes, and ambushes. What about engaging entire Nod divisions? Wiping them out in the thousands instead of in the dozens?"

That seemed to perk their interest and a few more started listening.

"In order to fight such large enemies, we must have information. I'm sure that would be the easier part, the reconnaissance. However, actually engaging the enemy is a different story. We must have organized squads capable of doing many small tasks and then coming together to do large operations. That sound reasonable?"

This time he got a few more nods than before. Maybe these Shiners really would listen to him.

"All right. I still have to work out the specifics of training, so I'll be back soon. Then we can begin practicing maneuvers."

Wilhelm nodded to Elijah and stepped back. The mutant commander came forward and dismissed the soldiers to their shooting practice. He and Wilhelm walked over to the side, away from all the noise. When they could talk without having to shout, Elijah turned to him.

"You're proposing some interesting ideas."

Wilhelm shrugged. "This is how GDI is organized. If you want your men to be able to fight like GDI, you'll have to organize them a bit like GDI."

"True enough," Elijah admitted. "But you said you needed to work out details. What was that supposed to mean?"

"Simple. I don't know how your forces are organized. I also don't know what kind of organization you want me to impose, and until I do I can't really train these people."

"Fair enough," said Elijah. "However, I'll expect all this to be taken care of by tomorrow."

Wilhelm swallowed, wondering if the Shiner knew what he was asking for. However, the look in his eye told Wilhelm there would be no arguing.

"Fine. But you're going to have to answer some questions then, and I'll need a notebook to keep track of the information."

"And I thought you GDI grunts were technologically savvy."

Elijah opened his backpack and pulled out a laptop and handed it to Wilhelm.

"Just use this."

"Hmm. Okay then."

The private sat down and turned on the computer. Elijah remained standing and waited for Wilhelm to begin asking questions. Just at that moment, Wilhelm saw something in the corner of his eye and looked upwards. In the distance, a single bird was floating in the air. Wilhelm stood and stared at it.

"Something wrong?" Elijah asked.

"That bird up there. I've only seen a few birds before."

"Is that so? Well, we get them from time to time."

"What kind of bird is it?"

Elijah squinted his eyes and answered. "It looks to be an eagle."

Wilhelm shook his head. "No, it's too small. It might be a hawk though."

"And your eyesight is good enough to tell at this distance?"

Wilhelm shrugged. "Maybe. But I think it is a hawk."

Elijah chuckled and patted Wilhelm on the shoulder.

"Perhaps we should call you hawkeye then."

Taking one last look at the bird, Wilhelm sat down again and got back to work. There was a lot of things that he needed to do, and not enough time to do it. But more and more, he believed he could make a difference here.

End of Chapter 2

Not much fighting yet, but we'll get there. If one doesn't properly build up the story, then it doesn't make sense when you do fight.

Z98


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Present

The sound of typing was the only noise in the otherwise serene living room. Wilhelm had been working for several days now, organizing the mutants into squads. Apparently Elijah had a rather ambitious plan and was actually working on forming a full mechanized division. Nothing wrong with that, except the mutants had so many different types of equipment that keeping inventory on them was an absolute nightmare. The uniforms didn't matter, but the guns and other weapons did. The Shiners used a collection of GDI and Nod pulse rifles, some modified and some left alone, to arm their standing forces. They also had a collection of discs and rocket launchers. One of the first things Wilhelm had the mutants do was take an inventory. There had been a good deal of initial resistance, but after a good deal of talking with Elijah, he had managed to get the mutants to play along.

His train of thought was interrupted as someone walked into the house. It was Grace, after a long day at work. She went to the makeshift bathroom, washed herself as best she could, changed, and went to bed. The two rarely talked and it was almost as if Grace was avoiding him. Wilhelm wasn't too bothered with it, as he had more work than ever piled on him. He went back to work and looked over the numbers.

So far he had managed to organize the combat engineers as well as the light infantry units. The Forgotten had plenty of experience in those two departments. In fact, they knew a good deal of tactics and coordinating various parts of their military. However, their troop concentrations were small. They never had to employ large numbers of soldiers, nor could they. The mortality rate among the mutants were shockingly high so they couldn't afford to lose a thousand of their healthier men and women in some suicidal attack. That was perfectly understandable. But that didn't mean they couldn't pull off a massive strike against Nod on a large front.

Wilhelm went over the numbers again. The Forgotten had given him an approximate number of their troops in this area, though they stated quite clearly this information wasn't completely accurate for security reasons. With the projected number however, Wilhelm began considering possibilities. Though he wasn't a strategist or tactician, he did know enough of these things to come up with a basic plan. Or was he just deluding himself into thinking he could make a difference?

"Still hard at work?"

Wilhelm looked up at the aging mutant. Gerald had returned as well and the little family was all here. He tossed aside his coat and sat down by Wilhelm.

"There's a lot to do," said Wilhelm. "I have to earn my keep around here, and the only way to do it is by teaching your people what GDI taught me."

"Oh, there are certainly other ways you could help. Harvesting Tiberium and fighting are just two of the things we have to do to survive."

"I don't doubt that," said Wilhelm. "To run such a large settlement, there must be a lot of logistics involved."

"Oh there is."

Wilhelm saved the papers he was working on and closed the laptop.

"Tell me a bit more about this place," said Wilhelm. "We don't have running water, but when we need it it's there. You people manage to maintain your own equipment rather well, and that requires a lot of machine tools."

"Of course. After all the fighting, GDI and Nod leave behind a lot of equipment. We salvage a good deal of it for our own uses. Besides which, we're all a rather diverse group. Some of us were doctors, engineers, while others of us were just simple truck drivers or construction workers."

That explained a lot, though it wasn't unexpected. There were possibly hundreds of thousands of mutants across the world, and they had to come from somewhere. They were as human as anyone else.

"I'd like to learn more about your people. A lot of the people that haven't mutated think of you people as barbarians. I'd like to see if I can correct that misconception."

Gerald nodded. "An admirable goal. However, there will always be those that scorn people that are different. Do you think you can change what the entire history of humankind hasn't?"

"Good point," Wilhelm admitted. "But at the very least, I should try. I'm one of you now, and my fate is tied with the rest of the Forgotten."

"Very well then."

Gerald stood and grabbed his jacket.

"Where are you going?"

"You mean, where are we going. I'm going to show you the lives of the people that share your fate."

Wilhelm set aside the laptop and stood. After getting his own coat, the young man followed him. They walked out and headed deeper into the settlement. Though everything was dirty and the settlement looked rather desolate, the people here didn't really look like they were starving. And yet Wilhelm didn't sense any real amount of hope in these people.

"How many people live here?"

"A few hundred. Most of them are simply looking for a place where they can live in peace what is left of their lives."

They walked past a group of children who were running in the streets. Wilhelm looked over at them sadly and thought of the children in the hospital.

"Gerald?"

"Yes?"

"The children. How long do they have?"

Gerald followed his gaze sadly. "Honestly? None of our children have ever survived until adulthood."

That statement scared Wilhelm. He looked after the children a while longer before turning back.

"A lot of people fight to try to make a better future for their children. If your children don't survive, what kind of future are you people fighting for?"

"An interesting question," said Gerald. "We fight for the hope that one day there will be no more mutants. That someday no one will have to suffer like we do."

"That's an interesting thing to say," said Wilhelm. "I would think you people were fighting for recognition."

"No. We fight to end Nod. They are the ones who created the first mutants, and must pay for their crimes. But that is not even the full extent of their crimes."

"They continue to experiment with Tiberium mutation today and also create cyborgs," said Wilhelm. "Is that what you mean?"

"Indeed. They kidnap our people for use in their programs and turn them into cybernetic monstrosities. This is one thing all of us are agreed upon. Nod must be punished for all that they have done."

Wilhelm nodded. During his childhood, he had also heard of the atrocities Nod committed. That was another reason he had decided to join GDI, to try to make a difference in the world. How idealistic he had been. But then again, he still was.

"Where are we going anyways?" Wilhelm asked.

"The water treatment plant. It's an old facility that barely works, but it's enough to purify our water enough for us to drink."

"I see."

The two continued walking and soon came into view of a large facility. Many of the pumps were rusted and filled with holes. A few others were also patched with metal plates. Wilhelm took note of the soldiers positioned around the water treatment plant. This was obviously an important place, though the Forgotten seemed to station guards almost everywhere in the settlement.

"Is this the only water treatment center you people have?"

"Yes. We were lucky to find it relatively intact, and some of our engineers managed to fix it up."

"And is that why the settlement is around here?"

Gerald nodded. "This is one of the most secure places we have, and we intend to keep it that way."

"You people have a lot of equipment," said Wilhelm. "But I still don't think you'll be capable of defeat a major attack by Nod."

"You are not the only one. But we'll still fight to the end if it comes to it. We have nothing to lose."

"What about your lives?"

Gerald shrugged. "If we give our lives to a worthy cause, then it'll be worth it too."

Wilhelm kicked a few scraps of metal aside and stopped walking. He looked over at the building and sighed. If this place was destroyed, the mutants here would lose access to their only supply of fresh water unless they asked GDI for more assistance. But that would require the Forgotten to reveal more about their numbers than they probably wanted.

"Shall we go inside?" Gerald asked.

"No need," said Wilhelm. "I understand the importance of this facility. It's the gift of life for all of you"

"Very well then. But there is still much more that you have to learn."

"I know. And I hope you can teach me."

Gerald grinned and nodded. "Follow me then."

Indeed there was much that Wilhelm still had to learn. But would he have enough time to learn it? That was a question the young German wasn't sure if he could answer.

The Next Day

A hand shook Wilhelm and he rolled over. It was Grace.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"I need your help," she said. "What blood-type are you?"

"O. Is there a problem?"

"One of my kids is suffering from a low blood count for some reason. I need someone's blood to help save him, and you're the healthiest one here."

"Your kids? The kids at the hospital?"

Grace nodded.

"Okay, I'll come over."

Wilhelm grabbed his pants and pulled them on as fast as he could. Not bothering with a jacket, he followed Grace over to the clinic. Again the sound of children crying greeted him and he fought the urge to run away. He was many things but not a coward. She led him into another room where a child was lying down on the bed. His breathing was shallow and the eyes flickered from time to time.

"We need to do a direct transfusion right now," said Grace. "Sit there."

"You're the doctor," Wilhelm said as he took the seat.

Moving quickly but professionally, Grace inserted a needle and tube to the child's artery in the arm. She then turned to Wilhelm and stuck a needle in him. Wilhelm gripped the armrest and waited for the doctor to finish. Within moments the blood started to flow from his body to the child.

"How long is this going to take?" Wilhelm asked.

"I'm going to take the normal amount a blood donor would give. You'll be tired for a while, but it won't do any harm."

Grace sat down and checked her watch. She then stroked the child's hair and smiled slightly.

"You care a lot about these kids," Wilhelm noted.

"They don't really have anyone else. Most of their parents have already died. It's a miracle any of them are still alive, in fact. The least I can do is look after them now that their parents can't."

Wilhelm leaned back against the chair and sighed. There was a lot of death around here, and it was a bit sad if he was one of the healthier people living here. What did the Forgotten believe in, if their children had no future and the adults would die long before they should? It was a treacherous life, and one that wasn't particularly rewarding either. So then what drove these people?

"Grace, what do you hold out for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tiberium is obviously going to kill you, and yet you struggle each day to let these children live another day. What do you hope for?"

Grace looked up and pushed up her glasses. "Hope? I hope that we can all live. I hope that one day we don't have to worry about dying from Tiberium."

"Seems like such a hopeless possibility."

"And are you suggesting we just give up?" Grace shot back. "That's a coward's way out, and I am never going to just accept this fate."

The tone of her voice accented her views.

"Do you believe there's a way to cure what Tiberium has done to us?"

"Of course. There is always a way to rebuild or to reverse something. You just have to keep looking."

Wilhelm sighed again and looked at the young doctor. Was she idealistic, or optimistic? Either way, she had a good deal of faith in humanity. Wilhelm didn't try to question her anymore and just waited for the transfusion to be done. As time went on, he felt more and more groggy but the child began to show more signs of life. The breathing steadied and soon the boy was sleeping soundly. At this point Grace disconnected the two and bandaged the puncture points.

"Thanks for your help," she said. "Do you need help getting back?"

Despite the grogginess, Wilhelm thought he heard gratefulness in Grace's voice.

"No, I'll be fine," he said, "though you're going to have to explain to Elijah why I'm not going to be so alert tomorrow when training the troops."

Grace shrugged. "I've treated all of his troops before. If he can't see past the fact that I have other responsibilities, then I don't know why I even saved his life."

An interesting thing to say, especially for a doctor. It certainly went against the Hippocratic Oath. But Wilhelm reminded himself once again how different humans and mutants were. There was such a great divide that misunderstandings were quite common. Wilhelm was more or less stumbling back to the house and fell asleep the moment he hit the bed.

By the time morning came, Wilhelm was still tired but had enough energy to get up and eat. Gerald gave him an extra big helping, apparently knowing what he had done the night before. When it came time to go down to the training field, Wilhelm found his legs feeling like rubber. Fighting the urge to just sleep for the day, he went over to the training field. The action and sound of gunfire helped him keep his mind more or less alert, though there were times his eyes just refused to stay open. It wasn't long before Elijah took notice of this.

"What were you doing last night? Night is for sleeping, not for getting tired."

"Tell that to Grace," Wilhelm muttered.

Hearing this, Elijah erupted into laughter and Wilhelm realized how the man had interpreted that.

"Not that way!" he nearly shouted. "Grace needed a blood donor for one of her kids, and apparently I'm the healthiest guy here so she did a transfusion."

Still laughing, Elijah patted Wilhelm on the shoulder. "Still, the thought of you with the good doctor is worth a good laugh. Hahaha!"

"Why is it so funny?" Wilhelm asked.

"Cause the good doctor has no time for men," said Elijah. "At least as far as we can tell. She's one of the few trained doctors we have and devotes most of her time to the kids and wounded. Though a man would do her some good, let her relax a bit."

"How long as she been around?"

"Two years. She came after I had already arrived at this settlement. Sometimes Grace is the only reason some of us are still standing."

"You sound like you admire her."

Elijah chuckled. "That woman won't pick up a gun to save her own life, and yet she's managed to save the lives of almost all of the soldiers here. She's an angel, I tell ya, and not one of us would ever hurt her."

"An angel?"

"Oh, please don't tell me you don't know what an angel is."

"I know," Wilhelm quickly replied. "Still, I find it odd that you people would compare Grace to one."

"And why is that?"

"I've talked to her a little bit," said Wilhelm. "At times she seems bitter, at other times she's optimistic. But I really can't see her as an angel."

"I see. Well, to each his own. Now let's see if these boys are ready for deployment. Did you hear the news?"

"What news?"

"Hmm, I guess you wouldn't have. Well, Nod forces just took Hammerfest."

That statement took Wilhelm by surprise and he just stared at Elijah for several seconds.

"What? But that's impossible!"

"That's what all of us thought too," said Elijah. "I've seen Hammerfest's defenses, and whatever the hell you people have protecting it, it works. But somehow Nod found a way around it, and they've taken the base."

Wilhelm didn't move and just looked down at the shooting range, deep in thought. Hammerfest was one of GDI's most secure research and military facilities. It was supposed to be impenetrable, as something called the Firestorm protected it. Like most of his comrades, Wilhelm didn't know what the Firestorm was, but was confident that it was the most advanced defensive technology ever created. Now that Nod had circumvented it, well, it was a serious problem in the very least. But not knowing what the Firestorm was, Wilhelm couldn't think too much on it.

"Don't worry too much about it. I've hard that GDI is sending one of their best commanders to handle the situation."

"Who?"

"Colonel Michael McNeil."

Wilhelm nodded. Though McNeil was just a colonel, General Solomon trusted him to undertake some of GDI's most crucial missions. That was perhaps another reason he was still a colonel. That meant he could stay as a mobile field commander instead of commanding from one of GDI's bases. But if Nod turned the Firestorm against GDI, could even McNeil find a way around it?

"So what are we going to do?" Wilhelm asked. "Are we supporting GDI after all?"

"Looks like it. GDI helped rescue our leader, Tratos, and for now we'll fight with them. But if they decide to abandon us again, well, I won't be shedding any tears."

"Tratos? Who is he?"

Elijah scratched his head. "Guess you wouldn't know about him either. Tratos is our leader. He's a scientist and has been working to help all mutants. We follow him because, well, he's the first person that's ever managed to rally us, and his research is in hope of helping all mutants. If it weren't for him, there would be no Forgotten."

"I see."

"So do you think the troops are ready for some action?"

"What do you have in mind?" Wilhelm asked.

"Nod forces are moving too close to France, and if Germany falls, we'll be in danger. I'm thinking of taking on one of Nod's supply bases. Their forces are stretched thin by their recent operations, and we can take advantage of that."

"A Nod supply base. Sounds doable. Better than taking on a division."

A chuckle. "Oh, we might be doing that too."

"Hmm. That doesn't fill me with confidence."

"Come with me."

The two walked away from the range and walked into a series of tented areas. Maps of France as well as regional locals were spread out. Elijah pulled one forward and laid it out. There were markings all over it, showing the locations of Nod units. A large red square seemed to denote the location of a major Nod base.

"Nod recently set this base up to try to alleviate their supply situation," Elijah explained. "Their forces are punching deep into GDI territory and their supply lines are getting longer and longer. Nod wants to use this base as a major depot to help stockpile munitions, fuel, and food. If this base is completed, they'll have a staging point for their operations into France."

"So? Tell GDI about the base and they'll take it out."

Elijah shook his head. "GDI is so caught up trying to repel Nod's frontal assault forces that they won't bother diverting any forces to this base. Besides, it's just a small outpost right now. They won't send the troops in to destroy it. We'll have to do it ourselves."

"Do we have the troops? It looks like there are dozens of Nod positions around the base."

"That's why this is going to be a major strike," said Elijah. "Come with me."

A pickup was waiting for them and drove off once both were on. After a few minutes Wilhelm began to hear rumbling sounds.

"What in the world?"

Elijah grinned. "You'll see."

The rumbling only got louder as they drove through the forest. Finally they came to an area that had been cleared of trees. Wilhelm simply stared at all that had been arrayed before him. Over a dozen Mammoth Mark I tanks were parked, camouflage netting covering them to prevent aerial units from spotting them.

"How did you guys get these?" Wilhelm asked.

"Relics from the First Tiberium War," Elijah explained. "We salvaged them and refurbished them. GDI isn't the only one with good engineers."

"Mein Gott. With this, our forces could easily overwhelm that Nod outpost."

"Haha, that's the idea. But we're aiming a bit high than that, my boy."

Wilhelm turned and looked at Elijah. "What do you mean?"

"You see, my boy, we want to wipe out all Nod forces in this area. If we can accomplish that, we'll be able to breathe a little easier."

"Wipe out all Nod forces in France?"

Elijah nodded. "GDI has been fighting them damn hard, but there are lots of little pockets of Nod forces all around. We know where they are, but GDI won't send the troops to wipe them out. Apparently they've been stretched thin. Well, we have nothing better to do, so we're going to clobber them."

That certainly sounded reasonable. If the Forgotten could take care of the smaller Nod units, eventually that would start putting a dent into Nod's numbers. It would also allow GDI the peace of mind to be able to focus on the major battles. That just might end up saving some lives too.

"When are we going to strike?" Wilhelm asked.

"Soon. I want to knock off some of the smaller Nod bases before we go for that supply depot. You feel up to it?"

"Not today," said Wilhelm. "I still need to recover my blood, and in my current state I'd be a liability."

"Of course," Elijah agreed. "I was thinking in three days we'll go after their outermost outpost. That shouldn't prove too hard."

Finally Wilhelm nodded. "That's fine. But I'd like to know what other kinds of armor we have at our disposal. Let's try to make sure the battle is swift and we suffer minimal casualties."

"Then we are agreed. In three days, the Brotherhood will feel our sting. The scorpion isn't the only one with a venomous strike."

"Elijah, have you ever heard of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel?"

"Rommel? I believe he was a general during the Second World War. Fought the Reds right to Moscow and kept the Soviet Union from taking over Europe, correct?"

Wilhelm nodded. "He used a method of warfare that he called blitzkrieg. Lightning warfare. Perhaps we should revive some of his old theories."

"As long as it kills Nod, I'll be happy," Elijah stated grimly.

"Then let's get to work."

The planning of the operation went smoothly as the Forgotten did have many competent tacticians. Wilhelm simply commented here and there, supplying what knowledge he had of GDI infantry tactics. In history, no one had truly successfully found a way to counter guerilla warfare save wiping out entire populations. Though Nod wasn't above such an act, they would face too great a resistance to be able to accomplish such a task quickly and efficiently. That was why, with these tactics added onto GDI's own, they would be able to cripple Nod.

Layouts of the Nod outposts were examined for weaknesses. Information was passed to the many units that would be involved and things began accelerating. A sense of anticipation seemed to grip the people of the encampment as the soldiers prepared to move out. With more and more of his time being eaten up by the preparations, Wilhelm found less and less time to just talk with Gerald or Grace. But it wasn't as if he really talked to the doctor before either.

The three days were eaten up quickly and on the third day Wilhelm found himself riding in one of the Forgotten's jeeps. It raced along with the convoy of buses as they traveled towards the Nod outpost. A small relay station, their target only consisted of a few power generators and a radar facility. There weren't even any armored units protecting the base, just a few patrol buggies and a platoon or two. The force the Forgotten was bringing to bear was overkill, but that hardly mattered.

"Any last changes in the plan?" Wilhelm asked Elijah.

"None. Our forces are ready to go. We'll make Nod bleed tonight."

With a nod, Wilhelm sent out the order. As he watched the soldiers move forward, he let his mind slip a little as it wondered about the future. Would this be his life from now on? Fighting with the mutants against Nod? Or would he ever become human again? Setting those thoughts aside, Wilhelm joined his men. There was a battle to be won and that was the present.

End of Chapter 3

There's going to be a major battle next chapter. Let's see how fast I can dish it out.

Z98


	4. Chapter 4

The reason I chose to write a story regarding the Forgotten is because there is already one done about Nod and GDI has been done to hell. Besides, I don't think there are any or at least few stories like this about mutants. Either way, it provides me the opportunity to work on my writing style.

Chapter 4: Alliance of Convenience

The Nod forces must have been surprised to see their own recon bikes tearing into the base. However, their surprise didn't last long. Missiles streaked out from the launchers, turning most of the parked vehicles into fireballs. More missiles flew through the air and struck the laser turrets. Pieces of metal flew all over the place as explosions shattered the defenses. Just as quickly as they had tore through the base, the recon bikes raced out. However, they were only just the first wave. Attack buggies raced forward and opened fire, killing many of the Nod soldiers trying to rally after the sudden strike. Machinegun fire crisscrossed the base and bodies fell everywhere.

One of the surviving turrets opened fire and a hot beam sliced through the engine of a buggy. It exploded and flipped over a crater. A second shot sliced through the main body and what remained caught fire. No one would have survived that. However, the defenses had already crumbled against this sudden onslaught. The bikes came back for another run and their missiles sliced through what lasers had survived their first run.

APCs soon came forward and unloaded the mutant soldiers. They continued fighting the Nod forces, but the Forgotten easily outnumbered their opponents. Within another hour, the entire base had fallen and more reinforcements came forward to help secure the base. Communications with the larger Nod base was cut off and the radar facility was soon serving the Forgotten.

Wilhelm and Elijah walked out from their APC, flanked by several guards. The group entered the radar facility and Wilhelm began studying the information that the relay provided.

"What's the status of the other forces?" he asked.

An engineer brought up another display and the red Nod positions soon began to be replaced with green symbols. Wilhelm smiled as the last red disappeared. The first phase had gone off without a hitch and now the Forgotten controlled all of the forward Nod bases. And with the radar array under their control, they would have ample warning should Nod forces try to launch a counterattack.

"What are the casualties?" Elijah asked.

"Fifteen dead, eight wounded," another mutant answered. "The other assaults suffered comparable losses but Nod forces have been thoroughly routed."

"Well, that means the main attack force can proceed," said Wilhelm.

Elijah nodded. "We can't give Nod too much time to strengthen defenses, though that supply base will be a hard nut to crack."

"Bring up whatever information this place has on that base and transfer it to the conference," Wilhelm ordered. "We might as well see if there's anything new."

"Yes sir."

With that Wilhelm and Elijah left and headed lower into the facility. More troops were underground, securing the subterranean hub that was customary to all Nod bases. Soldiers were patrolling the area and had checked the rest of the place for traps. However, the conference room had been cleared so the mutant commanders gathered there. Besides Elijah and Wilhelm, two other mutants had led the successful attack. Now they had to advance forward and take the Nod supply base.

Wilhelm smiled as he activated the panel. He had used similar equipment while still in GDI and it was fairly easy to figure things out. The information about the Nod base started pouring onto the screen.

"Just as we suspected," Wilhelm said. "Nod has an Obelisk of Light at that base. It's going to be difficult to take that thing down."

"That's what the tanks are for," Elijah said confidently.

Wilhelm shrugged. "Tank technology has advanced quite a bit since the Mammoth Mark I was built, Elijah. Today's tank guns can probably penetrate the armor of the Mammoths without too much difficulty."

"And?"

"And I think we might have to use some Titans. We'd lose too many Mammoths if we just used them. Besides, a proper armored assault has proper balance of forces."

Elijah grunted. "All right, you're right on that one, but keep in mind we don't have that much hardware to burn. What do you suggest we do?"

Wilhelm scratched his head and shrugged. "I would have suggested an air strike but we obviously don't have any air units."

"No."

"Okay. Then do we have artillery?"

Elijah grinned. "Nod may be bastards, but they do make good artillery. Yeah, we have a few."

"Then we'll need them. An artillery strike on that base will at least disable some of its defenses. Though we'll need to make sure the first volley hits their targets."

Before he could go on, another mutant rang into the room and interrupted them.

"Elijah, we've found something you have to see!"

This prompted all four of the men to turn around and run after the soldier. He led them over to the barracks, where a dozen other soldiers were standing around. All of them looked rather tense, making Wilhelm even more curious. As the proceeded down into another underground area, he soon understood why. In one of the largest underground chambers, there were possibly a hundred Nod cyborgs. Their dim red eyes revealed that they were inactive but the mere sight of these monstrosities was enough to frighten anyone. The pieces of machine melded with the human body produced a horrifying result. Visible wires and metal had been added on in an almost haphazard way, a good indication of the lost humanity that was a byproduct of becoming a cyborg.

"Do we have the command codes?" Elijah suddenly asked.

"We're still checking," the soldier replied. "However, we've activated jammers to prevent anyone from sending in a signal."

Wilhelm looked at the cyborgs and frowned. The mention of command codes gave him an idea, but he wasn't sure how willing the mutants would be to use it.

"Could we reprogram the cyborgs?" he finally asked. "If that were possible, we could turn them against Nod, make them pay for what they did to these people."

"No," Elijah immediately said. "We are not Nod. We do not use the body of others for such twisted monstrosities, no matter what!"

Wilhelm shrugged as he looked back at the cyborgs. The guns on their arms were powerful enough to punch through the armor of wolverines and he had seen groups even take down Titans. And as they didn't experience pain, cyborgs made excellent storm troopers. But what about the human aspect? Was it truly right to use machines to slaughter humans?

"Then destroy them," Wilhelm said. "Take the weapons off of them and destroy them. These things give me a bad feeling."

"Then why did you suggest we use them?" Elijah almost snapped.

Frowning, Wilhelm turned towards the mutant commander. "I'm a soldier, Elijah. I offer possibilities as to what to do with weapons, and whether you like it or not, these cyborgs are weapons now. Nod stripped them of their humanity and made them into weapons."

That statement didn't seem to make Elijah any happier as he shot a poisonous glare at Wilhelm, but he said nothing further. The other mutants also seemed to drift away from Wilhelm and all he could do was shrug. War was ugly and one used everything possible to survive. He was surprised these people didn't understand that.

For the rest of the day, Elijah continued to be courteous to Wilhelm but there still was a wall between the two men. Though his suggestions weren't rejected, there seemed to be a lot more examination of his ideas than Wilhelm remembered happening in the past. Fortunately, this didn't keep work from being accomplished. By the time night fell, the Forgotten were ready to move forward with the next stage of the plan.

Wilhelm yawned and was about to go to bed when a soldier poked his head into his tent.

"Someone's here to see you."

Wilhelm nodded and sighed. It looked like he wouldn't be getting any sleep for a while. To his surprise, it was Rachel that walked in next. He stood and looked at her curiously.

"I thought you were at Site 13," he said, referring to the Nod outpost she had led the attack on.

"I was, until I heard from Elijah," she replied. "I guess there are still a lot of things that you have to learn."

"Oh? Are you referring to what I said about the cyborgs?"

Rachel nodded. "Mind if I sit down?"

"Uh, sure." Wilhelm cleared away some of the papers and motioned for her to sit.

"Thank you." Rachel paused and smiled weakly. "I know you've been through a lot and you still don't understand us, but you have to keep in mind that we've been through more."

"I don't doubt it," Wilhelm replied as he sat next to her. "Is it because Nod uses mutants for their cyborgs that you people don't want to use them?"

"Something like that. In order to make a cyborg, Nod takes the life of a mutant. We believe in showing proper respect to the dead, as so many of us face death every day. To dishonor them by turning them into weapons is a thing that we consider shameful and insulting. That's why your suggestion got Elijah mad. He knows you don't know how we think, but knowing him he's too stubborn to say anything about it."

"So you came all the way out here to tell me that?"

"Not exactly. After Elijah explained what had happened, I decided it would be better if I take command of this unit and he take mine. Let him clear his head for a bit before having to see you again."

"Oh."

"You've been helpful to us and we don't forget those that help us."

"And here I thought I was one of you."

With a sigh Rachel stood. "Not yet, Wilhelm. But you're fast becoming one of us."

Once Rachel had left, Wilhelm laid down on the bed and pondered her words. There was a good deal of truth in them, but he still felt uneasy. The mutants were so much more human than some of his former comrades. What did that say about humanity? That only in crisis did their best come out? And yet the worst also reared its ugly head from time to time.

Nod Forward Supply Depot+

When Wilhelm looked through his binoculars, what he saw wasn't encouraging. Nod forces had set up several Tick Tanks around the military base to supplement the single Obelisk. There were also patrols of buggies around the perimeter and he could only assume other units patrolled the area. This meant trouble as far as he was concerned.

"Is the artillery ready?" he asked another soldier.

"Almost, sir. They're finishing the calculations for the first salvo."

Wilhelm nodded and looked back over at the Nod forces. This battle would turn out bloody, but the Forgotten had the better chance of victory.

"Sir, our artillery is opening fire!"

The statement was accented by a thundering sound as shells were launched into the air. They came crashing down upon the Obelisk and cracked the foundation. A second volley soon followed and explosions erupted along the line of enemy defenses. It wasn't long before the Tick Tanks started disassembling to move. They were sitting ducks in their dug-in mode, and the added protection wouldn't help them much.

"That Obelisk doesn't want to go down," Wilhelm observed.

"This is Rachel," the radio suddenly crackled. "Status?"

"That Obelisk is still standing, and I don't know how. You knocked out three of the Tick Tanks and I'm pretty sure only one of the laser turrets is still working."

"Then we're moving in after the next round," the mutant commander informed him.

Wilhelm sighed but didn't argue. "Be my guest. But be careful. If that Obelisk still isn't down after that third shot, our tanks are going to have some problems."

Any response from Rachel was droned out by the next artillery round. They were all aiming at the Obelisk this time but the thing refused to fall. A few seconds later the rumbling of tanks could be heard. Approximately twenty Mammoths surged forward towards the Nod base. As the surviving tanks came forward to challenge them, the Mammoths responded not with cannon fire but unloaded missiles. The spray caught the enemy by surprise and knocked out two tanks before the others opened fire. Cannons now roared on both sides as they tried to destroy each other. However, the tanks had moved into range of the Obelisk.

A slow hum built up and a bright red beam lashed out, striking one of the lead tanks. Its turret erupted into flames and it screeched to a halt, the fuel exploding seconds later. This didn't stop the other tanks as they continued forward, clobbering several more of Nod's tanks but losing two more of their own. This was when the infantry surged forward.

Armed with a simple rifle, Wilhelm knew that he wouldn't make much of a difference against that Obelisk. However, if the tanks failed to destroy it, the rocket infantry that he now led would make short work of it. The Obelisk fired again and now the Forgotten had lost five of their tanks. Now the Mammoths turned their attention to the annoying structure and opened fire with both cannons and missiles. The nose on top was shattered and electricity sparked off. Two more rounds struck its neck and blew a hole through it, but the structure didn't topple. The Obelisk was finally brought down as another salvo of missiles struck its base and leveled the structure.

With their largest obstacle removed, the tanks rolled forward and blew holes in the walls. Nod soldiers were pouring out but the Forgotten infantry units had reached the battlegrounds. Wilhelm took aim and opened fire, his squad joining him as they advanced forward. Using the tanks as cover, the soldiers inched forward while killing any Nod soldier brave or stupid enough to challenge them. The enemy tried to use the wall as cover, but the Mammoths were blowing holes through them as quickly as they could reload. Soon they were inside the base perimeter and firefights broke out everywhere.

Recon bikes raced towards the mutant forces but three were shot up before getting off their missiles. The others opened fire and swerved away, but two more were blown to pieces. The missiles concentrated on two of the Mammoths and brought them to a halt, the first tank exploding immediately while the other crew managed to bail before theirs went too.

Wilhelm ignored the splattering of dust and dirt as he led his squad forward. The tanks weren't going any further into the Nod base and he didn't blame them. The Mammoths were designed for open area combat, not urban. However, reinforcements were already on the way. Pairs of Wolverines marched into the base and each of the infantry squads tagged along with one as they fought deeper into the Nod base. More soldiers came in and began to secure the buildings that the initial assault had bypassed. Ever so slowly, Nod forces were found and exterminated. With the base taken, the Forgotten had managed to win a major victory against the Brotherhood.

With his rifle slung over his shoulder, Wilhelm walked over to Rachel.

"So, what now?" he asked.

"We're going to salvage what we can and then pull out," the mutant commander replied. "Of course, we're also going to level what we're not taking."

Wilhelm nodded. It made sense to steal whatever equipment might be useful and also deny Nod the ability to use this base if they returned. He watched as engineers moved through the base and began stripping hardware. His squad was tasked to collect rifles and ammunition and by the time they were done several trucks were packed full of weapons. Even a few of the wrecked tanks were hauled away. The Forgotten didn't waste anything.

It was nightfall when the Forgotten had managed to get everything useful. The soldiers piled back into their respective transports and drove off into the night.

Mutant Encampment+

The welcome that the soldiers received was certainly uplifting. Upon their return, it seemed as if everyone in the encampment came out to greet them. However, under all the celebration, Wilhelm took note of the wounded being taken to meet Grace. There was always that little issue of death and destruction to be dealt with in war. But these people saw it everyday. They certainly needed what happiness they could find. But he was a soldier and running away from the problems wasn't his duty. Making up his mind, Wilhelm left he crowd of soldiers and walked towards the hospital.

Inside the smell of blood was heavy in the air. A few soldiers cried out in pain but most of them held it in. Wilhelm walked over to Grace, who was bending down bandaging another soldier.

"Hey, need some help?" Wilhelm asked, tapping her on the shoulder.

The motion caught Grace by surprise but she controlled herself. She looked up and glared a bit at Wilhelm but let it go.

"Shouldn't you be out celebrating?"

"What's there to celebrate if my men are wounded and need help?"

The response seemed to satisfy her and Grace nodded. "I could use some help. Do you have any training?"

"Just what they gave us at boot camp. I can do bandages and that kind of stuff."

"That'll be enough. Over there are the less seriously wounded. If you can take care of them, I'd appreciate it."

"Okay. Where are the supplies?"

Grace pointed out what supplies she had and handed a case full of bandages to Wilhelm. She then disappeared back into the crowd of seriously wounded soldiers, leaving Wilhelm to his own devices. The young man moved over and bent down next to a soldier lying on a cot.

"So where did you get hit?" he asked.

"Arm," the man said. "The bullet is still lodged in there."

"Deep?"

The man shook his head.

"Okay then. Want me to remove it?"

"Go ahead. Not like I can leave with this thing still in."

"Okay. Grace didn't mention painkillers and I assume we don't have any."

The mutant soldier chuckled in response.

"Didn't think so. All right, I'll try to remove it. Hopefully I don't do any more damage in the process."

"Hey, what's the worst you can do?"

Wilhelm took out a pair of tweezers and looked them over. They appeared to be clean.

"Cause internal bleeding to start," Wilhelm replied. "But let's not go there."

The mutant agreed. "Yeah. Let's not."

With great care, Wilhelm removed the makeshift bandage the soldier had been using. The wound was rather clean and the soldier was right. It wasn't deep at all. He extended the tweezers and pried into the flesh. Though his patient winced, the mutant didn't cry out in pain. After a few seconds of probing, Wilhelm found the bullet and latched on.

"This is going to hurt," he warned.

"What hasn't so far?"

"Good point."

With great care, Wilhelm squeezed the tweezers and pulled. After several seconds and quite a bit of grunting from the soldier the bullet came out. Wilhelm looked over the blood-soaked projectile as the mutant panted heavily.

"It's almost like you gave birth."

"Oh that's real funny," the mutant said in between breaths. "I see why you got stuck with this job."

"I volunteered," Wilhelm said as he applied a new bandage over the wound. "There, that should do it."

"Thanks doc."

"I'm hardly a doctor," Wilhelm said. "I'm a soldier."

The mutant looked at him as he sat there on the cot. Recognition came soon.

"Oh yeah, you're that GDI grunt that got infected with Tiberium. Well, you're definitely pulling your weight here. Thanks again."

"No problem."

Wilhelm wiped his hands of the blood and moved onto the next patient. It was one of the soldiers from his attack party.

"Hey. Where you hit?"

"Huh? Sir? What are you doing here?" the puzzled mutant asked.

Wilhelm shrugged. "I volunteered to help. So, where were you hit?"

"A bullet grazed my leg and I broke it," the man replied. "You know how to set a leg?"

"Well, I guess we find out now."

The soldier chuckled. "I didn't think you had a sense of humor."

"Yeah well, you people still don't know a lot about me. Okay, I think we can use these two pieces to hold your leg once I reset it."

"Whatever you say sir."

Wilhelm scratched his head as he looked at the break. It was a clean one though the mutants didn't really have much in the way of medical equipment. That and he doubted he could do much even with the right tools. What he could do was reset the leg and let Grace handle the rest when she wasn't so busy. After a few seconds Wilhelm gripped on the two sides of the break and shifted the leg. The soldier cried out in pain but the bone had been reset. He quickly tied the two wooden pieces onto the leg.

"That'll hold for now," he said. "Come back later to have Grace look it over. This is a temporary fix at best."

"Will do," the man said as he tried to stand. "You know, you're pretty handy with this stuff."

"My dad was a doctor," Wilhelm said. "He was rather disappointed I chose a career in the military."

"Well, you're saving lives either way. I'll see you later sir."

The soldier used his rifle as a crutch and left the hospital. Wilhelm looked around and sighed. There was more work to do and he set about doing it.

When night fell and two other doctors came in to relieve them, Wilhelm thought he would just collapse and sleep in the hospital. However, he somehow managed to walk back to the house and fell onto his bed. The moment Wilhelm felt the sheets, he fell into blissful unconsciousness.

Morning, Mutant Encampment+

As the sun rose Wilhelm remained asleep. After the long night at the hospital, his body was too exhausted to notice the sunlight shining into his room. But the pounding on his door was too much even for him and Wilhelm rolled off the bed, completing his wake-up routine.

"Who's there?" he asked groggily.

"It's me, Gerald. Are you up yet?"

"In a sec," Wilhelm replied as he picked himself up.

When he opened the door Wilhelm found himself looking at both Elijah and Gerald.

"So, what brings you here this early in the morning?" he asked.

"Early?" Elijah snorted. "It's almost eleven! I've been wondering where the hell you've been!"

Wilhelm yawned in response. "I was at the hospital last night. Cut me some slack."

Elijah sighed and scratched his head. "You can be so much trouble, Wilhelm. Leave the healing to the doctors."

"They're my mine too, Elijah. I don't deserve to be out celebrating while they're in pain."

"Well spoken. But there is always more work to be done. We must plan our next move."

"I'll help plan," Wilhelm said, another yawn overcoming him, "once I get some food. Now if you'll excuse me, Gerald, what's for breakfast?"

Gerald chuckled and moved Elijah aside. "Now Elijah, remember that an army marches on its stomach."

Elijah grunted but stepped aside to let Wilhelm through. After he had his fill, the two men left once more for the training grounds.

"So, are you satisfied with how the troops fought?" Wilhelm asked.

"Indeed. Though you were right about the Mammoth Tanks. But though they are relics, they still have their uses."

Wilhelm nodded in agreement. "Those missiles were new and packed quite a punch. Perhaps we could work that into future attack plans."

The two walked through the Tiberium-infested forest and came upon the opening again.

"You realize that Nod will retaliate against other mutants," Wilhelm said. "That's the way they operate."

"That was apparent even before we began planning this mission," said Elijah. "But I believe there is something we can do about that."

"Such as?"

"Mount rescue missions. Many of our people are held at Nod research facilities, heavily guarded ones at that, and they are being experimented on. If we could move to free them, we will be dealing a double blow to Nod. Not only will we destroy their diabolical works, we will also add numbers to our ranks to continue fighting Nod."

"Well that's certainly a good idea," said Wilhelm. "Did you have any place particular in mind?"

"Indeed. Did you hear? Hammerfest has been retaken. That McNeil is certainly something."

"What?"

"Apparently McNeil and one of his officers led a taskforce and retook Hammerfest. Now GDI is turning their attention to the fighting down here. And we're going to lend them a hand, providing they help us free our comrades."

Wilhelm thought the words over. If it was true that McNeil had retaken Hammerfest Base from Nod, that meant he too had found a way around GDI's so-called ultimate defense. There were so few absolutes left in this world.

"So, you want to tag along on the operation?"

"Sounds like fun," Wilhelm replied. "Providing of course this isn't a suicide mission."

"Oh it isn't. We're breaking out the good toys for this one."

"Huh?"

"Come with me."

Wilhelm followed Elijah and jumped onto a waiting truck. The two rode silently through the forest and soon came upon what seemed to be a large military base. Barracks were in one area while War Factories lined another side. The Construction Yard in the center hummed with activity while the GDI power plants offered a familiar sight. However, this was not a GDI base. Forgotten soldiers and technicians dotted the area, all going about their business.

"Wow," Wilhelm uttered. "This is some base. How come I didn't know about it?"

"We didn't know how far we could trust you before," said Elijah. "It was only after your actions during the attacks that Rachel decided you were worthy enough of knowing about this place."

"I see."

Before anything else could be said, the mutant commander appeared. Rachel looked over at the two men with a small smile.

"Took you boys long enough to get here."

Elijah grunted. "Wilhelm overslept. He and his doctor friend were busy again last night."

The smile from Rachel's face disappeared as Wilhelm looked at Elijah incredulously.

"I told you already!" Wilhelm nearly screamed. "It isn't like that!"

"Well you're certainly spending a lot of time with her," Elijah replied.

"Can you please make him stop?" Wilhelm asked Rachel.

The young woman just started laughing and shook her head. "You two are like schoolboys. Start behaving like men for once."

The two men stopped arguing though Wilhelm still threw glares over at Elijah. They followed Rachel into the base and proceeded towards one of the war factories. Soldiers and vehicles passed them as they walked, moving equipment and weapons about. Several pickup trucks full of boxes also entered and exited the base. Wilhelm looked up at the war factory and examined the structure. He had seen plenty of them in the bases he had been stationed at in the past. As expected, there were modifications to this structure, just like everything else the Forgotten used that originated from GDI or Nod.

Upon entering Wilhelm found out just how much modified the structure was. There were no vehicles inside and the machine tools had been rearranged. However, on a platform, several large rifles were held in racks.

"Those the toys you mentioned?" Wilhelm asked.

Elijah nodded. "I'm sure you've heard of them while still in the GDI. Railguns."

Wilhelm stood planted to his spot and stared at the silvery weapons before him. Railguns. Weapons designed to launch projectiles at hypersonic speeds using magnetic fields instead of chemical reactions. He had learned about them in his science classes, but back then they were still considered impractical. While Wilhelm had heard rumors about GDI working on them back before he was infected, it was a complete surprise to him that the Forgotten already had them.

"But how?"

"We stole a few from a GDI arms facility," Rachel admitted. "We've also managed to duplicate most of the components."

"Wait, you stole them?"

"Get over it," Elijah snapped. "We're at war here and we'll use everything and anything we can get our hands on. Do you think GDI would have given us those weapons?"

Wilhelm shook his head. "Those weapons were probably prototypes when you stole them. If GDI could have mass produced them, they probably would have shared with you. Hell, all of us grunts would have been equipped with them. They would have eliminated any advantage Nod forces have with their cyborgs!"

"We know that," Rachel said gently. "But that doesn't change the fact that GDI isn't the only one that needs weapons such as these. We've been using them to great effect over the past few months and we'll use them again to save our comrades."

"Remember that you're the one that suggested we use cyborgs," said Elijah. "We don't need to sink down to Nod's level because we have these. As for GDI, this is an alliance of convenience. They kill Nod and so do we. That's the only thing that unites us. GDI hasn't done much for us and because of that we have to look after our own interests.

"Then why not try to make this a true alliance?" Wilhelm demanded. "It's sounding like neither side wants this to become true friends and allies and that's only helping Nod. Is it too hard to swallow your pride and independence and reach out?"

"Watch your words, boy," Elijah warned. "You've only been with us for a while and this is one of our nicer places. You haven't seen the hardships that we have to go through."

"Then ask GDI to help you end them," said Wilhelm. "They have the resources to help so many people. Just ask for it."

"And GDI will ask for more information in return," Elijah countered. "The one thing that has allowed us to survive for this long has been our secrecy. We will not surrender it so easily."

Thinking back on the assignment Armstrong had given him, Wilhelm tried to understand why the Forgotten were so distrustful. It was true that the mutants and suffered greatly but that could be changed. GDI controlled vast resources and even a small amount of that would make a world of difference to these people. What had happened in the past that made them so distrustful of outsiders?

"GDI has its shares of traitors," Rachel suddenly said. "However, our people have suffered so much from Nod that few of us would even help Nod in the most remote sense. Thus by keeping our secrets from GDI, we also gain a measure of security against Nod."

Shaking his head, Wilhelm sighed. "I guess you people won't listen to me about GDI. Well, I'll accept that for now. But someday, there will be a time when you will need GDI. And perhaps then will this alliance of convenience become one of friendship."

Rachel offered him a smile and tilted her head slightly. "Noble words, Wilhelm. Will you be the one that makes them true?"

The question echoed in Wilhelm's mind as he stood in the Forgotten facility. Thoughts raged in his mind as he tried to consider what it meant to be a mutant. What it meant to be human. Perhaps if he understood that, he could accomplish Rachel's challenge.

End of Chapter 4

Z98


	5. Chapter 5

I know this took a while, but I'm about to go back into school with quite a few AP classes, so don't expect faster updates.

Chapter 5: Pride

Wilhelm marched forward with the other rescued mutants. As promised, GDI forces had attacked and destroyed a Nod research facility and saved those being experimented on. Now the Forgotten would live up to their end of the bargain and would help GDI destroy this base. He stood alongside several GDI soldiers, though they kept their distance. It shamed him that he had once been like them.

"This is Major Langley," the voice said over the comm. "We've secured an area for a base."

"Acknowledged. Move the MCV forward."

The lumbering vehicle rolled forward with the soldiers walking alongside. No enemies were present to offer resistance and soon a small outpost had begun construction. This was something Wilhelm was familiar with and it felt nice to be back in a GDI base. Still, he kept his distance from the GDI soldiers and they did the same. The mutants were arrayed around the base as screening units with a few Wolverines as backup. So far Nod hadn't made a move against them but that was going to change soon.

Screams suddenly came over the radio and caught all of the sentries off guard. It soon became apparent that the attack was coming from inside the base. The soldiers rushed inwards and found three subterranean APCs parked inside the base, the Nod soldiers trying to do as much damage as possible. Three cyborgs marched forward and unleashed a torrent of bullets and knocked back the first units to respond. Fortunately a Titan was nearby and immediately blew apart one of them. The Wolverines had moved in from the perimeter and opened fire as well, pelting the other two. The remaining Nod soldiers continued firing, trying to take down as many of their enemies as possible. However, unknown to them, GDI had another option for dealing with them.

The GDI soldiers immediately pulled back and all of the vehicles moved out of the way. As the surprised Nod soldiers began their advance, a harmonic blast suddenly struck them and began ripping them apart. Their screams weren't even audible through the resonance field and within seconds their bodies had been broken and shattered. Though the end result was gruesome, the Disrupter tank was an effective weapon.

"Get back to your stations!" the GDI major ordered. "Nod might try to use this opportunity to penetrate our perimeter."

With the situation now under control, the mutants and Wolverines did as they were told and moved out of the base again. What damage that had been done was quickly repaired.

"What's the point of waiting like this?" one of the mutants complained. "We should strike now."

Wilhelm shook his head. "GDI doesn't like to move until they've amassed a large enough force to overwhelm the enemy. It's standard operating procedure for them."

"Then maybe that's why they lose so much to Nod," another mutant suggested. "GDI takes too goddamn long to do anything."

There was no point in arguing with the recently freed prisoners so Wilhelm went back to his job. He scanned the area with the binoculars and paced about. Even after everything that had happened, Elijah and Rachel were willing to trust him. They had supplied him with a railgun for this operation and also gave him information about another Nod site they should hit. When Wilhelm presented the information to McNeil, the colonel had agreed to take a look.

Moments later three Titans moved forward accompanied by several Wolverines. APCs rolled forward and one opened. Inside was the squad of mutants that Wilhelm was leading. He jumped on and they rolled along with the other units.

"The Nod base is northeast of our location and is used as a processing for Tiberium chemicals," a GDI officer said over the radio. "We believe that Nod also has missile silos in the area for testing their Tiberium warheads. Our objective is to destroy Nod's capability to manufacture these weapons and also gather what intelligence we can."

"Also keep in mind," McNeil's voice suddenly broke over the radio, "that there is a train line to another Nod base in the area. According to intelligence, that base supplies power to the main Nod missile sites around Hamburg."

"We were the ones that provided that intelligence," Wilhelm muttered.

The other mutants nodded in agreement but no one said anything else.

"Once we secure the train, I will be leading a strike team with the mutants to take it out."

The last statement surprised Wilhelm. Though he knew of McNeil's reputation, he hadn't thought the GDI commander was one that went into the field. Perhaps McNeil was better than he originally thought.

"Shall I lead the other team?" a mutant asked Wilhelm. He was another soldier that had been trusted with the railgun.

"Be my guest," said Wilhelm. "We'll be waiting for you in Hamburg."

The mutant soldier gave him a smile and cradled his rifle. Wilhelm understood how the other man felt. He also itched to test out the railgun in combat. If the weapon was as effective as it was on the range, it would thoroughly devastate Nod.

"We're here! Everyone out!"

The front of the APC opened and the mutant soldiers poured out. Cannons sounded as the Titans opened fire on the Nod Obelisk. A humming sound was warning enough as all of the infantry scattered. Moments later a red beam lashed out and struck the first titan, blowing off its barrel. As the Obelisk charged for a second shot, Wilhelm took aim and opened fire. The bullets tore through the air and smashed into the Obelisk, blasting large holes in the structure. He opened fire again and the next few shots cracked the neck. One round apparently found a power conduit as an explosion snapped off the tip. With their primary defensive structure gone, Nod forces poured forward and tried to push back the GDI troops with their tanks.

Wilhelm and the other Ghost Stalker moved forward, flanked by their comrades. They continued to open fire on the Nod tanks, taking them out with only a few shots. By now the enemy had realized what they were facing and began to try to maneuver around them. However, even the concrete walls didn't hold long as the bullets from the railguns penetrated and killed the soldiers hiding behind.

With resistance failing, the Titans and Wolverines advanced and slaughtered the Nod soldiers. Their job done, the mutants hung back and let GDI do the cleanup. Bullets tore through the Nod base and the clanking sound of mechanical legs echoed with them. Explosions shook the ground but since GDI didn't ask for backup none of the mutants moved to enter the Nod base. Fighting continued for a while longer but the outcome had already been decided.

"So much for those missiles," a mutant joked.

They really had been fortunate. So far Nod had not unleashed any of their chemical missiles against the GDI and mutant forces. Now, with the base captured and the silos disarmed, the rest would be easy.

"Let's go take out some harvesters," Wilhelm ordered his troops.

The mutants formed up and followed as Wilhelm walked onto the Tiberian Veins. This plant-like thing was sensitive to heavy pressure and no heavy vehicles could safely pass it. Though the entire patch could be destroyed, it was dangerous for infantry to attempt it. When attacked, the plant fought back by releasing a toxin that not even mutants could withstand. However, as expected, Nod had found a diabolical use for the plant.

Three harvesters rolled on the patches, drawing in the veins. Once processed, they would supply the toxins for Nod's new chemical missiles. As expected, Nod had several cyborgs protecting the Vein field. The mutant soldiers moved in slowly and Wilhelm took aim. The first shot blasted a hole in a cyborg's chest and alerted the others to their presence. Rockets sped through the air, knocking down the damaged unit before it blew apart for good. Wilhelm shifted his aim and blasted another cyborg. The shot shattered its head and this one was out of the fight as well. The process was repeated, with him softening up the enemy units before the others dealt the killing blow.

Chain gun fire quickly filled the air along with rockets and whatever weapon the mutants brought along. Though they had an advantage with the railgun, it was by no means an easy battle. Wilhelm threw himself on the ground just as a mutant next to him got hit in the shoulder. Another dragged him away from the battle while others provided cover fire. A few minutes later, the cyborgs had been destroyed but the vein harvesters were gone as well. The mutant squadron followed the tracks and approached the Nod outpost.

"Colonel McNeil," Wilhelm said over the radio, "we've located the Nod processing center. There doesn't seem to be any anti air defenses and I suggest an aerial assault."

"Acknowledged," came the answer, though McNeil said nothing else.

Wilhelm signaled to his troops. "Let's pull back."

The mutants followed his order quickly but they weren't even back on the vein field when the screaming sound of Orca fighters filled the air. All watched while missiles and gunfire sliced apart the Nod base, setting it aflame. Moments later a squadron of Orca bombers appeared and began firebombing what was left. As the Nod base burned, Wilhelm felt a sense of satisfaction overcome him.

Outside of Hamburg+

Rachel sat cleaning her weapon while Wilhelm kept pacing.

"You know you're not helping anyone by walking around like that," she chided.

"We're outside of Hamburg, the largest Nod base inside the Fatherland. How do you expect me to wait? The sooner this place is leveled, the better."

"You Germans really don't like Nod, do you?"

Wilhelm shot her a menacing look that even Rachel found threatening.

"We Deutsch have a long memory, and it'll be decades at least before we forget what Nod did to Berlin."

Rachel nodded understandingly. The Massacre of Berlin was something even the Forgotten was aware of. It was rare for mutants to care too much about what happened to unaffected humans, but anyone who was an enemy to Nod decried their actions in the former German capital.

"GDI forces won't be here for another hour at best," said Rachel. "Until then, we can't set off the charges. If we do it too early, Nod will have their power back up before GDI arrives."

"So this is what we do? I thought you people wanted to make a difference, but all you do is hide and wait for GDI to do the heavy lifting."

"You still don't understand us, do you?" Rachel countered. "If it came down to it, if it came down to fighting Nod with everything we've got, if we had no one else to help us, then we'd gladly do it. Do you know why?"

"Because you hate Nod?"

Rachel nodded. "We hate them to the very core of our being. But you could say we're also trying to exorcise our demons. Nod believes that they are carrying God's will. We believe they follow the will of the Devil."

"And you think God created the mutants to stop Nod?" Wilhelm questioned.

"I don't know what God's plan is, but I also don't believe that Nod is blessed by God."

"Well my plan is to make sure they receive God's wrath," said Wilhelm.

The mutant commander gave him a smile but startled as a loud sound filled the air.

"What was that?" she said.

Taking out his binoculars, Wilhelm looked around before his attention was drawn towards the sky. From the distance, he made out two aircraft flying towards them. As they came closer, Wilhelm frowned and tried to zoom more. It didn't take long for him to confirm his initial impression.

"What the hell?"

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"I've either lost my mind, or those things look like what Americans call UFOs," Wilhelm.

Without asking Rachel grabbed the binoculars and looked for herself. After a few seconds a shocked look came across her face.

"I presume you know something of them?" Wilhelm asked dryly.

Rachel looked again and once she was done packed the binocular away for herself.

"We need to get this back to GDI," she said.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"Just hurry!"

Once the fighters had passed over them, the two mutants ran out of the hole and began heading west. After notifying the other mutants of the change in plans, they proceeded to meet the oncoming GDI forces. They had been moving for several minutes before Wilhelm finally demanded an explanation.

"So what exactly are you so worried about?" he asked. "Those craft were certainly strange, but I don't see why you're suddenly so worried."

"You've never seen those before because Nod just put them into production," Rachel explained. "Those are Nod's newest fighters, called Banshees. From what we've learned, they seem to be armed with plasma weapons."

Wilhelm gave her a blank look. "I've never heard of them."

"That's not surprising," Rachel said and stopped. She activated the radio but heard nothing and continued moving. "They're a fairly new weapon that Nod developed, but we managed to gather a little bit of intelligence on them. However, be assured that their plasma cannons can easily cut through the armor of a Titan."

"And now you're trying to get in contact with Colonel O'Neill?" Wilhelm deduced.

"Of course." After another pause the radio crackled to life. "This is Rachel of the Forgotten, calling the Kodiak. Respond."

"This is Colonel McNeil. What's the situation?"

"We've spotted several of Nod's new Banshee fighters in the area," Rachel reported. "I suggest you be careful. If what I've heard is true, their weapons are more than a match for anything you have."

"Acknowledged."

The radio clicked off and Rachel nodded to Wilhelm. With GDI warned, they needed to get back into position for their reconnaissance. They headed back slowly, moving along what natural cover there was.

"Hamburg was once a rather large city," Rachel commented, "before Tiberium began spreading across the world."

"It was," said Wilhelm.

When he said nothing else Rachel chuckled, drawing a curious look from the German.

"You're certainly tightlipped," Rachel said. "Is it difficult to talk about your own past?"

"My past?" Wilhelm said questioningly.

"Where were you born, where did you live, your life before you joined us."

"What does that matter?"

Rachel smiled. "Because even if you're a mutant, you're still human. Your past still matters."

Leaning back with his rifle at hand, Wilhelm bit his lip before shrugging once more. In the end, he remained silent.

"You Germans," Rachel said. "So organized, so precise, so cold. Let your human side out once in a while. It'll do you some good."

"Letting out my human side? What am I supposed to construe from that?"

"Whatever you wish."

""As a soldier, I've found that the 'human side' often causes hesitation. On the battlefield, hesitation causes death."

"But life isn't just about being a soldier," Rachel pointed out. "Life is about living."

Wilhelm frowned and turned his head to face her. "So why bring this up now? There are better times to be talking about philosophy than when we're about to go into battle."

"I fail to see how that is so. We're about to face our own mortality soon. Should we really be hiding from it? Or does the thought of dying take out the spirit in a soldier?"

"It's easier to focus on the mission of you dismiss thoughts of dying," Wilhelm replied.

Rachel smiled and shook her head. "As a people that deal with death every day, we've found that it's easier to maintain inner peace if one comes to terms with one's mortality."

"So the Forgotten has its own religion? And I thought you believed in God."

"We were talking about philosophy, Wilhelm, not religion."

"Some assume no difference between the two."

The smile grew and Rachel laughed once more. "Now we're getting somewhere."

The comment clicked and Wilhelm gave her a look. "What's the point of this interrogation?"

"Just trying to remind you that you're still human even if you're a mutant."

"You seem to be trying very hard just for me. Am I supposed to assume you don't have ulterior motives?"

After several seconds of silence in which Rachel's face went through a series of expressions, she shrugged.

"In all honesty, I can't think of an excuse except the truth," she admitted. "You're one of the healthiest of all of us. You'll probably be seeing a lot of people die, including your comrades and even some of those kids back home. Consider this as something for you to think about regarding all those deaths."

"So you're telling me it's for my sake?"

"You can think of it that way."

Before Wilhelm could reply the radio crackled to life. "Rachel, GDI forces are in position."

"Roger," Rachel replied. "Blow the charges."

After being handed his binoculars back, Wilhelm zoomed in on where the laser fences should be. Though they were cloaked, he kept staring at the location. Off in the distance, an explosion erupted. Even though they heard nothing, the radio signal notified them and suddenly something flickered in the distance. For several seconds sparks flew and Wilhelm watched as the laser beams shut off before the posts recloaked.

"They're offline," he said.

"GDI forces," Rachel said through the radio, "the laser fences are offline."

Once their job was done, the various mutants began moving away from the Nod base. There was no point in sticking around to get caught in the battle. The majority of the mutant forces quickly loaded up while a few volunteers remained behind. Either way, before the end of the day, a lot more bodies would join the list of casualties.

Forgotten Outpost+

Soldiers wandered through the base, some with purpose and some looking for it. Wilhelm watched the activity from his temporary lodgings, unsure of what to do next. A knock on the door interrupted his musings.

"It's not locked."

As expected, Rachel opened the door and walked in.

"Well, Herr Wilhelm. What are you doing in here? It's awfully stuffy."

"I prefer a more ordered environment," Wilhelm replied.

Rachel looked around the room and saw that was true. Whatever the room looked like after its previous occupant had left, it probably wasn't like this. The room was relatively clean with everything tucked away. Even the rifle was neatly laid out, albeit partially dismantled.

"Going to clean that up before we leave?"

"I was under the impression we were going to be here for at least a week," Wilhelm said as he sat down in front of the rifle.

The German continued cleaning his rifle even as Rachel took a seat across from him.

"Have you noticed any other changes yet?" she asked.

For a second Wilhelm paused but quickly resumed his activity. He didn't bother looking up.

"Define change."

"Well, anything really. How you feel, physical changes."

"I'm fine."

"Well if only all of us were so lucky."

"You're presuming I'm in perfect health," said Wilhelm. "Anyone that's been exposed to Tiberium is sick. I just happen to be less sick."

"I see. Well do you need me to tell you about the basic symptoms? It should help you identify them as they crop up."

"Are you trying to scare you?"

"I'm trying to teach you about how to be responsible for your body. It's changing no matter what you think. Now as the changes occur, we've developed some treatments, if you will, to help with that."

This caused Wilhelm to look up. "I was under the impression that no matter what, sooner or later the Tiberium will kill all of us."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at this. "Let's just say we've managed to make it later. The reason I brought you here is because this is one of our larger medical colonies in Europe. It's time you started learning what to do as a mutant in order to live."

After snapping together two components, Wilhelm set them down and looked up at Rachel once more.

"Again I ask. What is so important about me that you're spending so much time on? After all, I'm just one man. What difference am I making that it's worth this effort?"

Rachel smiled and lead back against the chair. "You're very suspicious, Herr Wilhelm. All right, if you insist on this line of reasoning. You are useful to us. We don't have too many GDI soldiers joining our ranks for the simple reason that most of them choose to remain at GDI medical facilities. You're quite the exception indeed. What you've given us is a look at GDI's training and operating procedures as well as tactics."

"I don't see how that would have been difficult for you to get before," said Wilhelm. "Surely GDI would have offered to help you train soldiers."

"True," Rachel conceded with a tilt of her head, "but as you're well aware, we're as suspicious as you can be. Call it paranoia, but we prefer to keep secret what we have. You've allowed us to gain that information without giving anything back to GDI."

Wilhelm leaned forward. "And how do you know I haven't sent any reports back to GDI? I've had ample opportunity."

"You've certainly had," Rachel said as she crossed her legs. "In fact, I'm betting that you were ordered to do so when I was asked to step out of the room right before you decided to come with us. Am I right?"

Revealing nothing, Wilhelm waited for her to go on. After it became apparent that he wouldn't answer, Rachel simply nodded.

"You don't want to say. Fair enough. But so far, there has been no indication that you've obeyed that order. Oh I'm sure you've written up reports, but we have yet to actually see you hand them in. So for now, we'll continue to trust you."

"And if I do hand them in sometime in the future?" Wilhelm asked.

"Then it's likely that we'll just return you to GDI," Rachel answered. "Trust is hard to earn but easy to lose. For now, we do trust you. Do you really want to lose that trust?"

"Then explain something to me," said Wilhelm. "Why don't you trust GDI?"

"GDI has yet to give us a reason to trust them. They failed long ago to help us. If they're trying to repent for past mistakes, it will take quite some time before we can trust them."

"Even after GDI rescued your leader? You mentioned that earlier. That's still not enough?"

"It's a start. But they have much to prove. GDI has its own reasons for wanting an alliance with us, not just because we fight Nod, and they're not entirely selfless."

"What about your motives? Are they selfless as well?"

"Of course not. Everything we do is for ourselves and the Forgotten. But does that mean we're bad people? No. Is GDI all bad? No. But we'd rather not take the risk and depend on ourselves. After all, it's human nature to distrust rather than trust. When it's a matter of survival, we've learned that trusting outsiders too much leads to death. But since you're one of us, you have nothing to fear. Now, are you going to come with me or not?"

"You make it sound as if I had a choice."

"Oh for the love of God. You do have a choice. Do you think we run some kind of prison? That you can't escape from?"

"Your life is a prison," Wilhelm replied calmly. "I'm surprised after all your philosophy and deep thinking, you haven't mentioned this. The Tiberium is your keeper and your society is the structure of the prison. I don't have the choice of leaving unless GDI figures out a way to reverse Tiberium poisoning. That is why I don't understand your mistrust. Out of the major powers, GDI is the only one with the resources, manpower, facilities, and willingness to help you find a cure. So why not work with them?"

"And if GDI abandons us once again?" Rachel countered. "If we become completely dependent on them, what will happen to us? We'll die, that's what. They're welcome to help us as much as they want, but we won't become their servants."

Wilhelm shook his head. "GDI doesn't want you to become servants to anyone."

"Then let me ask you this. If Germany wanted to leave the GDI, could they?"

"What are you talking about? Why would the Fatherland want to do that?"

"Just answer the question."

After thinking it over, Wilhelm found that he couldn't. He simply stared at Rachel.

"You see my point?"

Reluctantly Wilhelm nodded. "Fine then. I see your point. Now you see mine. I was trained by GDI under a code of behavior as well as even a standard of honor. It is my belief that you are only hurting yourselves by withholding from GDI. You have something that GDI doesn't. Because the Forgotten is spread out in the Tiberium no man's land, you have better intelligence on what Nod is up to. You also have better striking capabilities compared to GDI because of your flexibility. On the other hand, GDI has better equipment and support facilities."

"Have you ever considered we're good at what we do because we lack GDI's resources?" Rachel asked.

Wilhelm nodded. "But that doesn't mean you'll lose your abilities if you accept help from time to time."

"It also doesn't mean you'll lose anything by accepting our help."

Locking the rifle components together, Wilhelm put down his weapon and gave Rachel a curious look. Finally he stood and nodded.

"After you, my lady."

Rachel laughed and surprised Wilhelm by taking his arm. "And they say chivalry is dead."

Though they walked side by side, Rachel led Wilhelm through the outpost to another building. He was in for another surprise as when they entered it looked to be nothing more than a storage bunker. After revealing a hidden staircase, the two went downstairs and entered the first technological facility besides a factory that Wilhelm had seen since joining the Forgotten. Dozens of people wearing clean lab coats worked in a sealed off area. A glass wall separated them, probably to keep the area clean. Wilhelm followed as Rachel entered a small room. After locking the doors, the white lights turned off and ultraviolet light flooded the room.

"What is this?" Wilhelm asked.

"A decontamination chamber. What? Did you really think we were nothing but savages? Shame on you."

Wilhelm was left speechless as Rachel stripped down to her underwear. She motioned for him to do the same and he followed her example hurriedly. They deposited their clothes in a drawer that popped out. After it withdrew with their clothes, Rachel smiled.

"Here comes the fun part."

Before he knew it showers activated and drenched the two in some kind of liquid. It definitely wasn't water and Wilhelm couldn't help but taste some.

"Try not to swallow any," Rachel warned.

Taking her advice to heart, Wilhelm spat out what little got into his mouth and waited for the shower to end. Once it was done, another door opened and they walked in to find towels and robes.

"What was that for?" Wilhelm asked as he tried himself.

"It's called a decontamination chamber for a reason," said Rachel.

As he tried himself, Wilhelm noticed the scar that had formed where the Tiberium had first entered his body. Specks covered the area and even Rachel noticed it.

"We'll have to get that checked out," she said as she examined it. "Grace might have been able to clean that wound, but there's no guarantee there's no infection."

"And with Tiberium, who knows what's grown there," Wilhelm said dryly.

Smiling, Rachel patted his cheek and finished drying herself. The two put on the robes and walked through the next door that opened. Finally they were in the actual medical facility. Three other mutants were waiting and nodded to them.

"Let's get started," one said.

Giving one last look to Rachel, Wilhelm got a smile in return. Whatever was going to happen, he was sure it was going to be memorable.

End of Chapter 5

Well, as I said, school is about to start, so don't expect faster updates. Though more feedback would help me work on this better, to know what's good and what's not.

Z98


	6. Chapter 6

Forgot to put up a disclaimer for this. I don't own C&C. Just a note. Wilhelm is not the only Ghost Stalker. The only thing I really explained was how the Forgotten managed to get railguns to equip their troops with.

Chapter 6: By His Grace

The doctor pulled out the needle and set aside the blood sample. Wilhelm looked on impassively as he and Rachel were examined. This was the third sample they had taken, though technically it was the least painful. He thought back to when one of the doctors had extracted a sample of the Tiberium encrusted in his wound. Blood immediately began gushing out along with some kind of green substance. After they sealed it once more, they went on as if nothing had happened. Rachel simply laughed at his irritation.

"They've dealt with this many times before," she said. "They know what they're doing."

Unfortunately Wilhelm didn't share her confidence. Even though the facility was extremely impressive, he knew nothing about the people. The doctors moved between them and some equipment, inserting the samples into various machines.

"Let's take a look at your reflexes," one of the doctors said.

"My reflexes are fine," Wilhelm replied.

The doctor shrugged and tapped Wilhelm on the knee with a small hammer. Wilhelm's statement proved true as he reacted accordingly. As the doctor went onto more tests, Wilhelm gave him a questioning look.

"What exactly is the point of these tests?" Wilhelm asked. "It's like I'm going through another physical."

"This is only the first part of the test," the doctor said. "We're seeing how Tiberium has affected your body. And you're right, it's more or less a physical."

"We still don't know that much about Tiberium's real effects on humans," Rachel informed him. "This helps our doctors have information to compare and see if there is any commonality between the cases they face."

"Do you share this information with GDI?" Wilhelm asked.

"You should know the answer to that already."

"GDI doesn't have to be your enemy."

"And they aren't always our allies," said Rachel. "We see each other as people. GDI sees us as a resource."

"And how do you know that?" Wilhelm questioned. "I'm sure GDI has disappointed or failed you in the past but maybe you don't need to give it to them for free. Maybe you could trade them to GDI."

"Trade it!" Rachel said indignantly.

Wilhelm had been around the Forgotten long enough to realize how Rachel interpreted his comment.

"I'm not talking about selling them," Wilhelm said quickly. "You have a lot of raw data. GDI doctors and scientists would love to get their hands on it. But that doesn't mean you have to share your secrets with them or sell out those people who the data is gathered from. Give them general stuff like statistics. I'm not suggesting you hand over patient records.

Even though the other mutants relaxed, they didn't seem completely convinced. Rachel cast a suspicious look at him though she raised no further protests.

"Look, I've seen enough things to know you people don't like to rely on outsiders and you have good reasons for that. But maybe you can level the playing field. Make GDI rely on you for something for a change."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "And why are you suggesting this? You always claim we should trust GDI."

"You distrust GDI because GDI is stronger right now. But if you could experience being in the advantageous position, you'll be giving them a chance to prove their worthiness."

A chuckle came from Rachel. "So why were you a simple soldier?"

"I was intending to study history before the draft was started again," Wilhelm admitted. "But I still remember some of the things I learned."

When Rachel said nothing Wilhelm glanced over. The look she gave him was filled with renewed respect. Or possibly it was regained respect after his earlier comment.

"We're done," one of the doctors suddenly said. "I'll have the preliminary results soon and then we can conduct the other tests."

"Thank you doctor," Rachel said and stood.

As she stretched, Wilhelm couldn't help but peek a bit. Just because she was a mutant didn't mean she wasn't also a woman, and a beautiful one at that. When Rachel caught him, he expected another reprimand. Instead she smiled and shook her head before simply throwing off the robe. The shock left Wilhelm motionless for a few seconds before letting a smile appear on his face.

"Shall we go?"

"After you," Wilhelm replied.

When they exited the room, fresh clothes were waiting for them.

"So did you enjoy the little show?" Rachel teased.

"Of course. Perhaps next time it'll be even better."

A whimsical laugh was the response and Wilhelm looked again. After spending so much time under her command, of course he saw her as a woman. However, this was the first time he acted on his impulses.

"Since we're here," Wilhelm said as he buttoned his shirt. "Do you know of anywhere with some good food?"

"Unfortunately we don't exactly have restaurants," said Rachel. "But I happen to know a good cook that we can probably bribe for a good meal."

"We?"

"What, you expect to eat by yourself?"

Wilhelm shook his head and stood, fully dressed. "Of course not. Well?"

The young man extended his arm and Rachel took it.

"So have you been trying to butter me up all along?" Rachel asked.

"Not exactly. This is somewhat spontaneous, though you caught my eye the first time I met you."

"That's flattering."

When they emerged the sun was almost gone. Rachel separated herself from his arm and stood before him.

"Look, if things were normal, I would certainly go out with you. I mean, you're as much a philosopher as you are a soldier."

"But?"

"But all of us are dying," said Rachel. "Some faster than others."

"What are you talking about? You look completely healthy."

"Looks can be deceiving. I've lived with this disease for almost ten years, Guillaume. Don't waste your time with me."

After place a kiss on his cheek, Rachel turned and walked away. Wilhelm watched her go, feeling a sense of desperation.

"How can you claim to be human when you deny yourself?" he called.

For a moment Rachel stopped and turned to face him. "I have no intention of hating God because I was forced to leave something behind."

"So that's a no to dinner?"

Despite the tension a smile broke over her face and Rachel shook her head. "I envy the woman that says yes to you, Guillaume. But it won't be me."

This time Rachel didn't turn back and disappeared into the coming twilight. Wilhelm stood there, finally appreciating the difficulty these people had in making a life out of anything. Maybe he was being too idealistic in thinking he could make a difference. After all, it was the scientists and doctors that held the greatest chance of finding a cure for these people. Then he remembered the constant pressures besides Tiberium. Nod wouldn't stop until they wiped out the Forgotten. If they were to be around long enough for a cure to be developed, soldiers such as himself would be needed to fight. It was the least he could do for a people that literally adopted him without any questions.

By the time they were back on the road home, Rachel was willing to talk to him about military matters again. However, gone were the discussions of philosophy and the small talk she indulged in with him before. A nagging sense of disappointment filled Wilhelm. It told him he'd jumped the gun, though another part said Rachel would have pushed him away even if he waited.

Unfortunately, such thoughts needed to be pushed aside for the time being. A laptop sat in Wilhelm's lap as he tried to do some work. A spreadsheet displayed the amount of ammunition, rifles, rockets, and various other weapons this group of Forgotten forces had. A growing problem was the lack of proper ammunition for the various rifles used by the mutants. A collection of GDI, Nod, and antique weapons were used, meaning they needed at least a dozen different types of ammo. At the moment Wilhelm was trying to decide which weapons the Forgotten should try to stop using and which they needed more of. Any standard GDI or Nod rifles would stay in, though certain models that didn't see wide use in this area would be discarded. All antique rifles should also be phased out but some soldiers resisted losing their favorite weapon. Wilhelm made a few more notes on paper and scrolled through the list again. Even though the list was fairly detailed, one rifle wasn't listed. The railgun was still considered too important to put in such a list.

A door opened and Grace walked into the room. Wilhelm continued to ignore her as he was used to her popping in and out like this. After about a minute, he finally looked up with the pen in his mouth and waited for her to speak.

"I think it's time you were given a lesson on the facts of life," Grace said bluntly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Wilhelm replied, the pen dropping as he did so.

"I think you do, Guillaume."

Hearing the nickname, Wilhelm chewed on his lip as he searched for the response. Grace sat down in front of him and closed the lid of the laptop.

"You haven't been here long enough to absorb all of the culture," she said, "so let me put it in simple terms. You don't initiate a relationship without the commitment to see it through to the end."

"How do you know about that?" Wilhelm asked.

"Oh please. We're a very close community, Wilhelm. When one of our members starts acting strange, we notice right away."

"Fair enough," said Wilhelm. "Why did she tell you?"

"I'm also a counselor," Grace replied. "Now put that laptop down and stop trying to dodge the issue."

Wilhelm did as he was told but didn't flinch. "I'm not. I just want to know why Rachel said anything. From the impression I got, she wanted to forget about the entire thing."

"Is there a reason why she shouldn't?"

"You tell me. And what's this about not having the commitment to see it through? She thinks I don't mean it?"

Grace pushed up her glasses as she regarded the soldier before her. He really didn't have any idea what was going on.

"And what reason would you have to ask her out? Even if you've been here for a while, you are still an outsider. I apologize if that's insulting, but it's the truth."

This time the young man did flinch at the accusation. His face remained steely but Wilhelm managed to compose himself.

"I wouldn't ask her out if I didn't mean it," he stated. "We've spent a good deal of time together and I appreciate her intelligence and abilities. After all, she was the one that invited me here. So if I somehow hurt her, I apologize, but I am not so shallow that I would ask her out for just one night and leave it at that."

The strength of Wilhelm's voice seemed to assure Grace but she didn't back down.

"Do you even know how severe Rachel's condition is?"

"Why would I know?"

For a moment Grace appeared ready to say something but stopped herself.

"If you gain her trust, Rachel will tell you herself."

She rose and left the room. Even before the door was closed, Wilhelm was up and rushed out the door. Grace frowned as he disappeared from the house but didn't try to stop him. With Grace's explanation, Rachel's reaction made more sense. It wasn't so much she didn't want to leave anything behind, it was she doubted the seriousness of his proposal. At that thought Wilhelm stopped moving and tried to figure out what he was trying to do. Usually it was after the first date when Wilhelm decided to commit or not. But in this place, that was clearly unacceptable. Rachel probably knew he was only semi-serious and thus decided to avoid trouble for both of them by saying no.

Shaking his head, Wilhelm tried to focus his thoughts. Women of intelligence, those that could argue with him and stimulate his mind, were the ones he preferred. If there was nothing to talk about, a relationship would bore easily. Common interests and activities provided a foundation that could grow stronger with more interaction. Diverging opinions didn't necessarily mean a relationship would be endless arguments. Instead, it meant the two could have a meaningful conversation without being meaningless.

Making up his mind, Wilhelm continued his search. He found Rachel in her quarters and knocked. When she looked up, her face didn't look encouraging.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"I had a little chat with-" Wilhelm began before stopping himself. "Well, let's just say I've gotten a better appreciation of the way you people do things."

"And what did you learn?"

Wilhelm paced a bit and held his hands together. He glanced at her and smiled slightly.

"Traditionally, the idea of asking someone out is because one thinks the other person would be someone worth pursuing. At least that's the way I used to think. But this was before I found my life was basically cut short by a few decades even considering my career as a soldier."

Rachel leaned back into her chair and shook her head. "You talked with Grace, right? I should have expected this. Look, when-"

"What I'm trying to say," Wilhelm interrupted, "is that I'd rather find someone to spend my life with, no matter how short either of our lives are."

By now Wilhelm was standing before Rachel's desk. He leaned forward but kept his gaze on her.

"So if there isn't already someone, I'd like to be yours."

Silence descended upon the two as Rachel stared back at him. She leaned forward to meet his gaze to answer.

"My life expectancy is only two more months," she said gravely. "In two months, all you would have of me would be a corpse."

The confession moved Wilhelm but Grace's words echoed in his mind. If he gained Rachel's trust, she would tell him.

"Then let's make those two months mean something. Let me make those two months meaningful."

Rachel shook her head but the smile Wilhelm remembered was back. "And I thought us French were romantic. I'm sorry Wilhelm, but there isn't time. I have a lot of work to do and I want to finish it before I'm gone."

"So let me help you," Wilhelm pressed. "You don't have to shoulder any burden alone."

"But you also have other responsibilities. After all, you're the only one that has enough GDI experience to help train the other soldiers."

"Why can't I do both?"

Rachel shook her head. "I couldn't ask that of you."

"What is it you're working on?" Wilhelm asked. "Why would it be so difficult for me to do both?"

"I'm-"

For a moment Rachel appeared ready to open up but stopped herself. She shook her head again.

"No. I just can't ask that of you."

"But you haven't," said Wilhelm. "I'm offering. Look, if you only have two months left, then don't bury yourself in work. Take the time to appreciate what life can offer."

"I can't do that!" Rachel nearly shouted. She slumped down and covered her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice. But I can't indulge myself while other people are suffering."

"You can't save every person in the world," Wilhelm said calmly. "But you can make a difference in one person's world. Let me make a difference in yours."

Rachel let out a long sigh and rubbed her eyes. "I think you would have made a better politician than a historian. It's hard to argue against you."

"Maybe it's because you want this too."

"Maybe I do," Rachel admitted. "Sorry, but I need a little more time to think about it."

"All right. But don't hold it off. I'd rather we made what time we have together as long and meaningful as possible."

When Wilhelm left the house he couldn't tell whether he felt relieved or more burdened. But he didn't regret his actions and that was what mattered. By the time he got back to his own residence a sense of exhaustion began creeping up on him. Wilhelm crashed into the bed and closed his eyes. Hopefully by tomorrow Rachel could give him an answer.

Something pressed against Wilhelm as he slept and it was enough to rouse him. He tried to roll over but whatever it was kept him pinned down. Finally opening his eyes, he found a black box on his chest. A very heavy one at that. Wilhelm pushed it off and sat up. He rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out what was going on. Wilhelm glanced over at the box and picked it up again. He flipped off the top and stared at the files filled with paper. On top laid a note with his name on it. Once opened, he read it carefully.

You said you wanted to help. Well, this is what I've been working on. Call it a little charity for everyone I'm going to miss. I don't expect you to become an expert or anything, just take a look through it.

Rachel

After rereading it a few more times, Wilhelm set it aside and began paging through the sheets. They were all profiles of the children living here. As he read through them, Wilhelm grew more and more concerned with how bad things really were. The situation could be described as desperate but even that might not be enough. Then he finally found the summary of what this project was about. A small smile crept onto his face. If anyone could have come up with this, it was Rachel. Deciding that he could lose a little sleep for this, Wilhelm got out of bed and continued reading. Rachel might not expect him to become an expert, but he would try.

The general information was easy to grasp but it looked like Rachel had a lot more work ahead of her. Wilhelm stretched and set aside the box. Morning was almost here and he got up. No point in trying to sleep now. When Wilhelm stepped out of the house the town was already abuzz with activity. Trucks rolled in and he watched as people began unloading. From what he saw, they were mostly civilians.

"Who're they?" Wilhelm asked a passing mutant.

"Nod's been attacking our settlements all over Germany. We're taking in refugees."

Wilhelm nodded and watched as the people got off. Grace appeared from the makeshift hospital and directed the flow of bodies. However, she was one in a sea. Wilhelm chewed his lip as he tried to decide. In the end, he came to the conclusion that Grace's displeasure was worth it.

"Squads 2 and 5," he said over the radio. "What's your status?"

"Doing nothing," came the first response.

"Same here."

"Good. Want to report to the front gate and help the civilians coming in?"

A lengthy silence answered him before Wilhelm grew tired of waiting.

"Well?"

"No offense, Wilhelm," the leader of Squad 2 replied, "but that's kind of stepping on the Doc's jurisdiction, so to speak."

"Why are all of you so scared of her?" Wilhelm asked.

"We're not scared of her," the other squad leader said. "We just want to avoid pissing her off. She's our only doctor after all."

Wilhelm sighed. "Look, if she gets mad, she can take it out on me. All right? Now get over here."

"You Allemands are either braver than we thought or stupider than we thought."

"We Deutsch can also issue more orders than you thought. Now get moving."

A few minutes later about a dozen soldiers appeared, all of them sensibly only carrying light arms. Wilhelm nodded approvingly and led them over to Grace. As they approached, she gave them a puzzled look but quickly zoomed in on Wilhelm.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Lending a hand," Wilhelm replied. "It looks like you could use it."

Grace gave Wilhelm a rueful look but didn't vocalize her displeasure. Instead, she directed the soldiers to assisting the refugees. As more trucks came to a stop the soldiers began guiding their fellow mutants into their new home. Wilhelm helped where he could but he also took the time to look at the people joining them. It was not only adults, but children that had been displaced. Several were carried out of the trucks, too weak to move on their own. The sight reminded Wilhelm of Rachel's project. Shaking his head, Wilhelm continued to work. It might take some time, but he would get their stories as well.

End of Chapter 6

This was a very short chapter for several reasons. The first being it was more a humanistic chapter instead of one based on fighting. The second is to let all of you know I'm still alive. I dislike stories that only focus on fighting instead of actually making their characters believable and human. Also, it was about time I actually worked on developing some real romantic tension.

Z98


	7. Chapter 7

I've noticed a slight problem with some of my fics. I attempted to focus on too many people in several of them and neglected the main characters. Fortunately I had neglected Bird of Prey long enough that this didn't happen. Consider all of you lucky, cause then I'd have to redraft a lot of the story. But fortunately, I'm going to continue on with focusing on Wilhelm and those around him.

Chapter 7: Humanity

The raid was rather typical, another probing strike against Nod's forces in Germany. Nod had taken a bloody nose because of Colonel McNeil, but they remained strong enough to harass the Forgotten. Wilhelm ducked as bullets peppered his position. Though a powerful weapon, the railgun was worthless if he couldn't find an opportunity to use it. He got up and let loose a few rounds, blowing apart the advancing cyborg.

Dozens of his comrades joined in and more firefights broke out between the two factions. Fortunately, the Forgotten had the advantage of armor. Wolverines marched forward and opened fire, their machineguns chewing apart the opposition. Clanking accompanied their movement and the infantry followed alongside. Nod forces continued the struggle but they were now outnumbered and outgunned. As Wilhelm watched the battle conclude, he felt somewhat uneasy. This all seemed so wrong.

The Forgotten operated as a guerrilla army, much as Nod had in the past. This method of fighting wrecked havoc with GDI in the past and now was an equal headache for Nod. However, what he was introducing was completely contrary to that style of warfare. If the Forgotten continued to use his style, they might lose what made them so effective.

The mop-up operation went quickly and Wilhelm walked through the battlefield. Black smoke hovered over the ground, stinking the air. A few flames continued to feed on the carnage and twisted metal. Wilhelm ducked to avoid walking through the haze and found himself looking at the charred remains of a Nod soldier. There was a clean cut above the neck with the head nowhere in sight.

"Wilhelm!"

Turning around, he saw another mutant running towards him. The level of formality between him and the other mutants and continued to decrease during his stay to the point they stopped using "commander."

"There's a shipment of deactivated cyborgs in the base!"

Another change had been the Forgotten letting slide his earlier comments about using cyborgs or stripping them for parts. Wilhelm walked over and followed the other mutant. Something felt odd as he entered the base. If there had been a transfer of cyborgs during the attack, it raised the question of why more weren't involved in the defense. He stopped and immediately pulled out his radio.

"Hold it," he said and turned into the radio, "get away from the cyborgs. We're blowing that. Now."

"What's wrong?" came the response.

"Are those cyborgs fully functional except for the fact they're deactivated?" Wilhelm asked.

A pause. "Yes."

"Then why weren't they used during the defense?" Wilhelm finished.

The pause was longer this time but the other mutants were learning to trust his instincts. He watched as other troops ran out from the storage facility. Looking around, he didn't have that much in the way to blow up the entire building. His eyes fell on a Nod Tick Tank parked to the side. That'd do. Wilhelm walked over and climbed on top. Looking in, the controls were still intact and seemed functional. He dropped in and sank into the seat. Though formally a grunt of the GDI infantry, he'd picked up a few things from his time with the Forgotten.

A rumble sounded from the engine as it fired up. Wilhelm turned the tank around and pointed the turret.

"Everyone clear?" he asked.

"Yeah," the radio crackled.

The gun was already loaded and the first shot slammed into wall. Unfortunately it was an anti-armor round and only blasted a hole. Though the wall didn't crumble, it was close. Though he wasn't in the gunner seat, the commander seat he was in was able to take over any function necessary. Nod may have been full of bastards, their engineering was still impressive. He reloaded an incendiary and prepared to fire again. However, suddenly an alert flashed on his screen. A heat signature appeared in the structure and Wilhelm leaned forward.

"Shit. There's something in there!"

Without waiting he let loose another round and the heat signature flared. His comrades reacted immediately and opened fire as something continued to move. Before the reload was complete a more ominous sound joined the cracking of rifles. Chaingun fire burst out of the wall, crumbling it even further. It caught several of his troops by surprise and several dove aside. The Wolverines quickly returned fire and soon attracted the attention of the cyborgs. The enemy fire was inaccurate enough so they knew some damage was being done, but the next attack quickly changed their minds.

A Wolverine stomped closer with its guns blazing when a green sphere struck it. The plasma melted right through its armor and detonated the fuel, tearing the mech apart. The mutants didn't stop firing but quickly began to scatter. Wilhelm looked at the screen as a figure moved forward, knocking aside the rubble.

"Shit."

The heat signature started to grow again, all the warning he needed. Wilhelm pulled himself out of the tank just as the Cyborg Commando got off its second shot. The plasma splashed across the turret and the explosion threw Wilhelm to the ground. Another mutant pulled him up as they backed away. The continuing barrage only slowed down the Commando but it would not fall. Another tank opened fire and the round blew off part of its body armor. However, this caused the Cyborg to turn and aim its next shot at the offending unit.

Being ignored the for the moment, Wilhelm raised his railgun and took aim. The recoil rammed his shoulder back but the shot smashed right through the Cyborg's chest. It staggered but remained standing. Another shot blew through its neck, drawing fluid from the wound. With the third shot, the Commando fell to its knees, its body too damaged to continue operation. This didn't keep the other mutants from continuing to pour fire at its form. However, the threat was over.

Wilhelm stood and shook his shoulder. The railgun was certainly a powerful weapon, but not one that could be used constantly. Leaving the others to finish the cleanup, Wilhelm walked towards the perimeter of the base. The sooner he left this Nod hole the better.

Convoy+

Sometimes the Forgotten seemed cold and emotionless and sometimes the mutants displayed an almost sadistic sense of humor. Despite the heavy damage inflicted upon it, the Cyborg Commando's head had survived and was now mounted like a trophy on the lead truck. Wilhelm sat with his back to that particular vehicle, instead taking the time to examine the plasma weapon they stripped off the Cyborg body.

"That's a nasty weapon," his fellow passenger commented. "Nod's starting to put those things on planes now too."

Wilhelm nodded. He had heard rumors about a new advanced fighter Nod had begun producing. So far though, few mutants had even seen the mysterious new aircraft.

"I wonder how we can use this," Wilhelm thought aloud. "Maybe it can be mounted on something."

"You mean like a tank," another passenger suggested. "Now that would be an interesting combination."

They continued to throw ideas out on what they could do with their trophy as the convoy bumped along the road. A few hours passed before the base came into view. Because GDI didn't have any major bases in No Man's Land, the Forgotten had used the opportunity to set up one of their own. With the campaign being carried out so far from home, it had become necessary for the mutants to have a place to fall back to closer to the front.

In many ways the base seemed surreal. Besides the GDI military equipment, the Forgotten had procured Nod weapons through various means. Several laser turrets watched them approach before resuming their sweeps. The gates were of Nod design but the emblem had been painted over. A GDI radar facility was the most visible symbol of the Forgotten's cooperation with the larger organization. Most of the other buildings looked more civilian in nature despite this being an actual military base.

Wilhelm jumped off the truck and took hold of the plasma cannon. Once it was safely in the war factory for the engineers to study, he made his way over to the radar center. When Wilhelm entered, he made sure not to trip over any wires. Though donated by GDI, the modifications made by the Forgotten were extensive. Controls for the laser turrets and other automated defenses were installed in the basement under the building, as was perhaps one of the most important technological possessions of the entire movement. A fully functional pirated copy of EVA.

A small smile crept onto his face. When he first found out about it, the first thought to enter his mind was how he could report this to his superiors. As time went on, his supposed loyalty to GDI became less of a factor. Now, he frankly didn't care if the Forgotten possessed a copy of EVA. It certainly made things much easier for him.

The map at the center of the room correlated all the information the Forgotten possessed on GDI and Nod movements. The recent attacks led by Colonel McNeil had hurt Nod bad and the destruction of the Tiberium missile facilities were certainly promising. However, Nod had also been active. As GDI continued its campaign through western Europe, Nod continued to launch probing attacks into southern France from their position in Italy.

"Here you go."

Wilhelm looked over and took the cup of coffee from his fellow mutant. He nodded his thanks and took a sip. Despite the roughness of their life, sometimes the Forgotten managed to find small comforts and luxuries. Of course, the coffee tasted absolutely horrible, but that didn't really matter to someone who had long forgotten what real coffee tasted like anyways. Wilhelm tapped a few buttons and focused in on northern France. After all, that was where home was.

"Wilhelm, communications coming in for you," one of the technicians shouted. "Channel 4."

Walking over to a monitor, Wilhelm punched up the transmission. To his pleasant surprise, Rachel was on the other end.

"Rachel."

"Wilhelm," the female mutant replied. "I have a job for you and your men."

"Down to business it is," said Wilhelm. "What is it?"

"GDI has asked our assistance in finding the production site for Nod's new air superiority fighter."

Wilhelm gave her a blank look. "Their what?"

"According to GDI, it's called the Banshee," Rachel explained. "It's some kind of fighter using plasma weapons."

"Oh," said Wilhelm. "Very well then. I'll get right on it."

"You will be working under Umagon, one of our most respected commanders. She's also a good friend, so don't get her angry at you."

"Of course not," said Wilhelm."

"Oh, and good luck."

The grin came back and he nodded. Rachel returned the nod as she tried to keep her face composed. In the end, she cracked and returned the smile as well. The image cut out and Wilhelm leaned back. Another day, another job. At least the missions were interesting, and Wilhelm didn't doubt he'd see some interesting sights on this one.

Nod Production Facility+

Relative calm permeated the surroundings of a tunnel entrance. Wilhelm and the rest of his squad were waiting in the shadows when another figure approached. A whistle signaled them and the figure returned the countersign. Still cautious, Wilhelm stepped forward, railgun at the read. The woman standing before him certainly looked like a fighter. Frankly, he didn't need Rachel's warning about not getting her angry.

"You're Umagon?" he asked.

The mutant nodded. "Who else? You all ready to move out? Then let's get going."

Not even giving them a chance to respond, Umagon headed towards the tunnel. Taking a few seconds to sort out his first impression, Wilhelm turned and followed the mutant commander. Her gruffness wasn't uncommon among mutants and shouldn't have surprised him.

There was relatively little activity around the area as the mutants began scouting. When the team heard the sound of engines, they all took cover and Wilhelm began scanning for targets. A Buggy tore through the scene along its patrol. Without hesitation Wilhelm let loose and took out the Nod vehicle. The shot slammed through the windshield and shattered the driver's chest. It continued through the seat before igniting the fuel. The vehicle was set ablaze as it rolled along before flipping over.

"Keep moving," Umagon ordered.

She walked right past the burning hulk without a pause. Nothing seemed able to faze the Shiner commander. Wilhelm brought up the rear. Like all the lands infested by Tiberium, the ground was muddy and dead. Fortunately they didn't have an ion storm to deal with as well. Taking advantage of the natural cover, the mutants moved closer and closer to the Nod base. A few more skirmishes broke out but none of them involved serious opposition. Seeing Umagon in action, Wilhelm began to understand where the respect for her originated.

The latest Nod soldier to fall prey to Umagon's rifle slumped down. A few times there were leftovers for the other mutants, but Wilhelm didn't get to use his railgun again for the rest of the march. The closer they got to their quarry, the more patrols they seemed to encounter. Then again, it could be because they were killing so many Nod troops.

Wilhelm looked through his binoculars as he lay on his belly. The oddly shaped Nod fighters were lined up neatly on the airfield, perfect for a bombing run save for the SAM sites surrounding the base. The fighters all looked like they were from some old science fiction movie. Umagon knelt beside him and looked down into the base without the aid of any equipment.

"Mac, we've found the base," she said into a radio. "Send in the calvary."

"They're on the way," a voice replied. "Meet up with the troops at the designated point. We have a little surprise for Nod."

Umagon waved to the other mutants and they began withdrawing. Getting away from the base proved much easier than getting near it, though a few times they took cover when they heard the sound of Nod's new fighter approach. Weird as they looked, the Banshees were supposed to be armed with plasma weapons, which were no laughing matter.

"So what's this surprise we're supposed to see?" Wilhelm wondered aloud.

"Keep your head down and you might live long enough to see it yourself," Umagon replied.

Though she didn't raise her voice, Wilhelm felt like she had kicked him in the groin. Either she was a lot tougher than Rachel had hinted at, or she still considered him an outsider because of his GDI heritage. Considering his experiences, it seemed the former was likelier than the latter. The Forgotten supported each other because they only had each other. It wasn't in their nature to cut others out because of their past.

By the time they arrived, GDI reinforcements were already busy at work. The initial force was fairly light, with several Hover MLRS for anti-air support. The rest of the mutants continued to scout around and acted as point guards. Nothing much happened as GDI continued amassing their troops. However, what arrived next certainly qualified as a surprise.

The roar of an Orca carryall alerted everyone to a new arrival. When they looked up however, all of the soldiers found that they couldn't tear their gaze away. The thing hanging under the carryall was massive to the point that it stretched out beyond the plane. Its four legs hinted at the size of this colossus and as they set down the unit sank into the ground.

"Mein Gott in Himmel," Wilhelm muttered.

Hissing sounded from the legs as it took a step forward. The ground shook beneath them and several stumbled where they stood. A singular gun turret rotated around, puny compared to the mammoth of a war machine it was mounted on.

"What the hell is that?" Wilhelm said into the radio.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice responded, "I introduce the Mammoth Mark II, the newest weapon in the GDI arsenal against Nod."

"Where can we get one?" Wilhelm asked.

Laughter answered him and the soldiers quickly moved out of the way for the massive beast. Several other Orca transports arrived and put down more odd-looking tracked vehicles.

"We're moving out now," McNeil ordered.

"You sure your forces are enough, blunt?" Umagon asked.

"Oh we've got plenty of firepower," McNeil assured all of them. "Just watch out for any air units."

When the Mammoth started walking, the ground around it shook enough to unbalance all the infantry nearby.

"Well this is inconvenient," Wilhelm muttered.

At least he wasn't alone in stumbling away from the Mammoth. The hover abilities of the MLRS units were finally showing their worth here. The amount of noise made by the Mammoth would certainly warn Nod of the approaching attack if their radars hadn't already detected such a large machine on the move. Despite the loud cranking, a screeching was soon audible.

"Incoming Banshees," a voice warned.

The MLRS units began scanning the skies and located them. Missiles let loose and chased after the Banshees. After several maneuvers, they escaped unscathed. However, the Mammoth took aim next and a series of bolts slammed into the lead fighter. The survivors scattered in disarray and didn't see the next salvo of missiles. Two more exploded into fireballs with their remains raining onto the ground.

Despite the loss of their wingmates, the remaining Banshees continued to barrow in on the attack force. Green globs shot out and struck the Mammoth but they simply splashed off. Another was hit and the rest had barely begun their second run when missiles and bullets tore them apart.

With the air threat dealt with, the force approached the base. Before they entered the range of the defenses, the railgun opened up again and blew apart several turrets. Nod forces began pouring out of the base in response. They poured fire against the Mammoth but again the beast shrugged it off. The other troops returned fire, as much to keep themselves alive as to support the Mammoth.

The faster Nod units managed to avoid the initial barrage but soon found Wilhelm's railgun waiting for them. The shot passed right through the lead vehicle and blew apart the two cycles following it. Other units scattered while missiles trailed them. The slower Tick Tanks were having a rougher time trying to engage the Mammoth. Few managed to get in range before being blown apart. Those that got off a shot were dealt with quickly by the Mammoth's escorts if they had the fortune of being ignored by the massive tank.

"Any incoming air units?" the radio crackled.

"None in sight," Wilhelm replied.

"Then start pulling back behind the Disruptors," McNeil ordered. "The sonic waves can't exactly tell the difference between us and Nod."

That was all the motivation they needed. The Disruptors rolled forward as the other troops quickly scrambled behind them. By now, most of the resistance had been dealt with and the base was open for assault. When they let loose, Wilhelm found his body starting to shake despite being behind the tanks. A sharp pitch was also in the air and it grew in intensity. His vision started growing fuzzy and Wilhelm shook his head, trying to reorient himself.

Wilhelm wasn't the only foot soldier affected, though it looked as if it was mostly other mutants. The GDI ground pounders appeared to be withstanding the harmonic waves fairly well, possibly due to their helmets. Wilhelm made a note of that. He'd need to get GDI to give his troops some of those if they wanted to use Disruptors again. Despite the interference, Wilhelm looked over at the Nod base. Most of the walls had crumbled and the base itself was in ruins. Twisted pieces of metal marked the remains of vehicles and buildings. All in all, the base was a loss. It wouldn't take Nod long to set up another manufacturing site, but this at least would buy GDI and the Forgotten some time.

"We're moving out," McNeil said over the radio. "6th Platoon and the Mark II will remain behind and guard the area. All other units, pull back."

Having no reason to argue, Wilhelm walked off with the rest of the mutants. Surprisingly, Umagon remained with the GDI forces. It would be a while before Wilhelm learned why.

Mutant Encampment+

It was good to be home. Wilhelm was lounging on the beaten up couch in the house he shared with Grace and Gerald. As a soldier, he was kept busy while in the field. Back home, he would usually do the heavy lifting when needed.

"Wilhelm! Get out here!"

Sighing, Wilhelm proceeded to follow Grace's order. Perhaps she had grown more comfortable with having him around, or she decided he was a pushover. Either way, Wilhelm found that most of the work he now did in the settlement was directed by the good doctor. Upon stepping outside, his eyes fell upon a large stack of boxes. Grace was writing nonchalantly on a clipboard and ignored him until she was finished.

"I need these put in the backroom," she said. "Just leave them where I can get to them easily."

"Yes ma'am."

Maybe he was a pushover. The boxes weren't too heavy and Wilhelm finished the job quickly. As he was leaning against the counter catching his breath, Grace walked in and cut open one of the boxes. She took out a bottle of pills and looked it over.

"Where do you get medicine from?" Wilhelm asked.

"Various donors, raids, and GDI supplies," she answered. "Here."

Grace handed him a notebook and pointed to a rather worn backpack. A quick glance over the pages confirmed his suspicion. The good doctor wanted him to make another round. While the most terminal patients stayed at the makeshift hospital, there were others that depended upon various types of medicine but were strong enough to live at home. Most usually came in to pick up what they needed, but human memory was never perfect. Each week Grace made up a list of people who were overdue in their checkups and either delivered them herself or had someone like Wilhelm do it for her. Wilhelm didn't mind the rounds, since it gave him an opportunity to meet more of the settlement's residences. What walls remained between him and the other mutants were slowly coming down.

This week most of the people were the habitually forgetful, though one or two names were new to him. At the first stop he smiled and greeted the older mutant.

"Tomas, you look well."

"Wilhelm! Ah, don't tell me. The doctor sent you."

Wilhelm rummaged through the sack and pulled out the bottle. "That she did. Here."

"Thank you."

Tomas emptied his remaining pills into the new container and gave the empty one to Wilhelm. After a few more exchanges Wilhelm bid his friend a good day. At the next stop, he was bowled over as he entered the house.

"Wilhelm!"

The soldier let out a laugh as he returned the hug. Isabel was always energetic despite her condition. However, it wasn't her that needed the medicine.

"Isabel, let the man stand," a kind and gentle voice said.

Wilhelm smiled in thanks. "Good to see you again, Maria. I hope you're doing well."

The teenage girl nodded and took her younger sister's hand. The two lived alone but were watched over by their neighbors. While Isabel seemed perfectly healthy, her sister was constantly suffering from a weak lung. That was another reason why Maria was always on the rounds. The medicine Wilhelm handed to her helped Maria helped in her day to day activities but could never restore her full health.

"I'll see you next time," said Wilhelm, then he knelt down to Isabel. "You behave, and don't give your sister any trouble."

"I never give her trouble!" Isabel protested.

Smiling, Wilhelm gave her a pat on the head. Then it was off to the next person. When he reached the fifth name, it was one he didn't know. That resulted in Wilhelm spending a while finding the address. The house itself was fairly neat and surprisingly clean. He poked his head in after knocking when suddenly a frying pan smashed into his face. Wilhelm staggered back into the streets as a shriek sounded from the house. Several people passing by came to a stop and two helped Wilhelm up as he clutched his head.

"Gott, that hurt," he muttered.

A rather well-built man came running out of the house and quickly apologized to Wilhelm.

"I'm terribly sorry about that, my wife has something of a temper, you see."

As he recovered, Wilhelm saw a rather stern woman holding a frying pan in her hands glaring at him.

"Ah," he said, "though I should probably apologize for walking in like that."

The man laughed. "Ah, no need my friend. My wife is a rather orderly person and doesn't like people walking in without wiping their shoes, you see. But then you couldn't have known that."

"I guess that explains it," said Wilhelm. "Uh, I'm here to deliver your medicine."

"Then I do owe you an apology, my friend," said the man. "My name is Alexander, and I work at the water processing plant. We've been busy dealing with a rather nasty plankton boom that's managed to spread rather far, you see. That's why I wasn't able to come pick up my pills myself."

"It's okay," said Wilhelm, "that's what we're here for. Anyways, tell your wife I'm sorry about not uh, wiping my feet. I'll try to remember that next time."

The man laughed again and slapped Wilhelm on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over. "Next time come here last. We'll serve you a meal in thanks for your understanding. My wife's one of the best cooks here, you see."

"Uh, thanks. Well, until next time."

The rest of the round went without incident, though Wilhelm was certainly more cautious when seeing if someone was home after that. When he got back to the clinic, it was almost evening. Grace was still at work cataloging the new shipment and looked up as he entered.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

She simply pointed to a mirror and Wilhelm glanced over. On his right cheek was a red mark that was starting to swell.

"Frying pan," he answered.

This only earned him a curious look. When Wilhelm finished his story, Grace did the last thing he expected. She laughed. The sight of the doctor with her mouth open in laughter was too much for Wilhelm. He soon joined her and the two spent the next few moments like that.

"I can't believe you nearly walked in on Ms Clair," Grace said in between her gasps for breath.

"Ms Clair?"

Grace nodded as she tried to compose herself. "She's lived with Tiberium for much longer than most of us. Somehow her system's kept the infection at bay, at least enough so that she's in relatively good health. Some say it's because of her stubbornness, something I can believe."

"I see," said Wilhelm. "Well, her husband said she's also one of the best cooks around."

"Probably true, since Ms Clair runs the main kitchen. Anyways, that'll be all for today. You can go get some rest now."

Wilhelm smiled at that. "You don't stay up too late either. As a doctor, you should know the effects of exhaustion better than most."

Grace's face turned serious again and she gave him a scowl. Before she could say anything else, Wilhelm decided to make a tactical retreat. Better not to annoy her, or else she might find more work for him to do. As he stepped out of the clinic, he saw Rachel walking about.

"Yo!"

Looking up, Rachel smiled and waved. "Hard at work?"

"The good doctor had me doing the rounds."

"Ah, then perhaps I should have forgotten to pick up my medicine," Rachel joked.

Wilhelm tried to smile, but he knew Rachel's condition just barely kept her from being grounded in bed. He stepped next to her and followed. The mutant commander had her own notebook and was jotting things down.

"Part of the project?"

Rachel shook her head. "As much as I would like to devote all my time to it, I do have other responsibilities. On the other hand, the project has advanced quite a bit since you started helping. I haven't had a chance to say thanks."

"No need," said Wilhelm. "It helps remind me of my humanity, so to speak."

"You need a reminder?"

"Well, a reminder of the humanity we strive to retain."

"I see," said Rachel. "All of us have a reason for doing the things we do."

"Hmm, and I think you know the reason for what I'm about to do next. Have you had dinner?"

Rachel's eyes widened but she didn't let her surprise show for long. The smile that appeared was one of plain amusement.

"You don't give up, do you?"

"We Deutsch are stubborn people," said Wilhelm.

"So I can tell. Well, I guess stubbornness should pay off sometime. All right, I'll join you for dinner. It's your treat after all."

"My-haha. You French certainly know how to play the romance game."

"But of course. French is the language of love."

Wilhelm offered his hand and waited as Rachel looked at him. She had a mischievous grin that somehow worried Wilhelm. Suddenly Rachel spun and turned her back to him. For a second, Wilhelm was too stun to do anything. However, Rachel took the matter out of his hands when she took his. Having not recovered from the first surprise, Wilhelm was utterly unprepared to deal with the second one. When he came to his senses, Wilhelm decided he might as well take advantage of the situation.

"Hey, I know a cook that owes me a meal. Just make sure to wipe your feet at their door."

End of Chapter 7

Hmm, this chapter felt a bit compressed. Well, it can't be helped. Not much to say about this chapter other than asking for reviews. Haven't checked up on the rest of the C&C section so I don't know if the quality has increased or not, but I am proud of my little contribution to it.

Z98


	8. Chapter 8

I don't think this is too much to ask, but will the various writers in the C&C stop confusing readers? Nod is spelt lowercase. Not NOD, Nod. If any reader then uses NOD, we writers only have ourselves to blame. Right? Repeat after me, Nod.

To everyone else, sorry. It's just that as someone who prefers to adhere to canon and likes consistency, small things like that bug me.

I make an effort to answer questions fielded to me at the beginning of notes. If I forget to answer them, it's usually because it's been a while since I last read the reviews by the time I get around to writing the stuff. The specific question I'm answering here is whether I've read every single C&C manual. Actually, I haven't. I don't even own the Tiberian Sun manual because I bought it used. I've mostly used the PlanetC&C encyclopedia and a timeline/encyclopedia I myself made for my interpretation of the C&C world.

Chapter 8: Divination

The burning wouldn't stop. His insides felt like they were on fire. That was all he could think about as he rolled in bed. After what seemed to be an eternity, the attack subsided and Wilhelm lay there. What used to be annoying spasms were turning into full case attacks. He downed the pills Grace prescribed to him and hoped they didn't take too long kicking in. His good health was apparently coming to an end.

"Wilhelm? Are you up?"

Wilhelm forced himself out of bed and opened the door for Rachel. She smiled upon seeing him and thrust a crate into his hands.

"What's this so early?" he asked, bemused.

"I was wondering if you could hold onto these for me," said Rachel. "I'm going to be gone for a while taking care of some matters."

So she really was going to the front again. Wilhelm would be going as well, but their respective battlefields might be hundreds of kilometers apart. The Forgotten didn't have enough commanders to concentrate too many together. For that matter, Wilhelm had yet to have an actual support staff. Everything in the field was handled by himself and if he was lucky three other field officers.

"You know I might be out there for a while too," said Wilhelm.

Rachel nodded. "But you have Gerald and Grace still here."

"True enough. All right, just put it with the others. Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I went through them and sort of compressed them down."

"As long as they're still in order."

"They are," Wilhelm assured her.

What was originally five crates of folders was now down to two. Rachel had originally spaced out the folders to make room for additions to each profile, but many of the children were already at rest.

"By the way, thanks again," said Rachel. "My, you're one of the few people who's managed to stick with the project for this long. Makes one wonder what your real motives are."

Wilhelm wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You already know what they are. It helps me remind me of my humanity. But what about you? You seem to have worked on it for quite some time."

"That's because I began it," said Rachel. "What kind of example would I set if I abandoned something like this?"

"True enough."

"Though I'm happy to have found someone that can take up the project after me."

"Oh? Are you trying to dump the project on me so you can run away?" Wilhelm teased.

"Hardly. Now let me go. I have a ride to catch."

"If you insist."

Once Rachel was out the door, Wilhelm began flipping through the new crate of files. He recognized some of them as children at the clinic. Rachel had been busy during his absence. Well, he might as well get to work as well. He threw on a flak jacket and began walking to meet the rest of his unit. A good deal of activity was ongoing in the settlement. With the renewed GDI advances, Forgotten forces were busy liberating various prison camps and experimental facilities. This time however, Wilhelm would be leading a squad of light infantry.

His troops were all waiting, gathered by several buses and trucks. A few dozen Shiners in all, they were all skilled veterans. With them, who needed heavy armor?

"How long before we're ready to move out?" Wilhelm asked.

"The rest of the stuff is being loaded now," Axel said. "We'll be ready when you are, blunt."

"Heh, when are you going to stop calling me that?" Wilhelm asked. He ran his hand along a line of crystallizations that had begun to creep upon his forehead.

"When you stop hitting on our commander, that's when!" Axel said with a smile.

"Huh? What?"

Elijah grabbed Wilhelm and put him into a headlock. "Don't play innocent now, we all know. You lucky bastard."

The others all laughed as Wilhelm tried to break loose. "Bloody, just let me go get my gun and we'll see who's lucky!"

When he finally got loose Wilhelm shook his head. The antics of his troops reminded him of how they acted with his old sergeant. Then again, his old sergeant was probably dead like the rest of the squad. When he returned with his railgun, the troops were waiting to depart.

"What's our target this time around?" Wilhelm asked.

"A supply run of sorts," said Elijah. "Don't you ever read the mission briefings?"

"The ones you write? Of course not. I want to be able to have time to sleep."

On one side was laughter. On the other was a hand that whacked him on the head. Nonetheless, Elijah continued.

"Nod forces have been pulling back some of their forward outposts. They've collapsed eight bases so far and we know of six more being taken down as we speak. We're going after their evacuation convoys."

"So are we stealing anything special?" Wilhelm asked.

Elijah grinned. "The convoy we're hitting is from a base that had an Obelisk of Light."

Wilhelm let out a low whistle. Those defensive structures were hated by all soldiers in GDI. Despite their weaknesses, too many GDI walkers had perished to the laser mounted on the damn things. It certainly would be nice to have one on his side for once.

"That ought to be a nice trophy," said Wilhelm.

"And of course a dozen harvesters full of Tiberium," Axel added.

"What?" Wilhelm exclaimed.

"Oh didn't I mention that?" said Elijah. "This base was one of their Tiberium harvesting facilities. Since they're pulling back, they're taking the processed Tiberium with them."

"I see. And of course they're probably bringing with them lots of weapons?" said Wilhelm.

"But of course," said Elijah. "Still, Nod isn't stupid. They've split the materials into several convoys. We'll be hitting all of them."

"Ambitious."

"And of course, we're relying on you to pull it off for us."

"What?"

"You're the unit commander now," said Axel. "That means you're the one that needs to pull off the miracles."

"You're intentionally trying to shorten my life, aren't you?"

"He is," Axel said and pointed to Elijah. "I think he's jealous of you."

"Why you!"

Wilhelm finally found the opportunity to laugh himself. It wasn't much fun always laughing at oneself. Well, the Forgotten wanted a miracle and he'd see about making one. By the time they were bouncing on their way, Wilhelm was already working out a way to coordinate the strikes.

"I presume they're spread too far out to use radio?" said Wilhelm.

Elijah snorted. "We'd be so lucky. There's a lot of ion activity in that area. Even GDI can't get reliable signals through with their satellites."

"Would that be why they aren't hitting those bases?"

"Why else? Those pansies can't go anywhere without their precious air support."

Wilhelm cast his fellow mutant a look but Elijah remained unapologetic. Since he was considered a mutant now, the others didn't view insulting GDI as reflecting on him as well. All that meant was they did it in front of him more often.

"And we don't have the equipment to try a brute force method anyways," Wilhelm said to himself. "But the problem isn't completely our timing. It's Nod."

"True enough," said Elijah. "If one of them gets tipped off, then everything gets ruined."

Wilhelm continued browsing on his laptop. He had a basic inventory of what equipment the Forgotten possessed as well as a few interesting tidbits. However, none of them offered much inspiration.

"They'll have five different convoys. That seems rather excessive, even if there's a lot of equipment."

Elijah tilted his head toward Wilhelm. "You think they're trying to hide something?"

"Entirely possible."

"Hmm. So if we want to find out what they're doing, we need to take the cargo intact. That might be a bit difficult, considering the escorts."

Difficult indeed. From the intelligence Wilhelm had, it looked as if an armored company would be protecting each convoy. Almost two dozen Tick Tanks at each location. It looked like Nod really didn't want to lose whatever they were transporting. That was a hundred tanks right there. He had nowhere near that level of troops. That meant he needed to fight smart.

"How many EMPs do we have?" Wilhelm suddenly asked.

"Quite a few," Elijah replied, "though they're low yield ones. It'd take three or four to disable anything as large as a tank."

"Have you ever been in an ion storm before?" Wilhelm asked as he brought up the maps.

"Yeah, plenty of times."

"Have you ever been in an ion storm where one side was stupid enough to use lots of EMPs?"

Elijah's mouth began to open but he remained silent. He closed it slowly and waited for Wilhelm to explain.

"I don't think it's common knowledge, though it's probably filed away somewhere. Anyways, during one of my earlier deployments, I was part of a GDI taskforce moving on a rather large Nod base. We had lots of armor with us, Titans, Wolverines, and the like. However, we were also attacking during an ion storm. The Nod base was fairly large, but apparently we caught a large part of the defenders out of position, so their commander tried to use their EMP cannon to slow us down. It worked fairly well in that every time we managed to advance a little, they'd fire off another burst and incapacitate our armor.

"Our own commander got frustrated with this and decided to advance with infantry to at least secure the area. That probably saved our lives. I think it was after the fifth round of EMP bombardments that ion strikes started hitting our vehicles. We lost possibly a third of our armor because of the storm but strangely enough the EMPs also stopped. We did end up taking the base, and when we broke through their walls we found that the EMPs had already been fried."

"Are you suggesting that the EMPs drew the ion strikes?"

Wilhelm nodded. "They're nothing but lightning, really. We can call them whatever we want, but ultimately they're just lightning bolts. Excited ions, so to speak."

Elijah chuckled. "Why did you join GDI as an infantry? You sound like you would have done better as some kind of engineer or scientist."

"A disagreement of career choices with my dad," Wilhelm said absentmindedly. "Anyways, if we set them as mines, would the charges be small enough to avoid notice?"

"We'd have to reduce their yield somewhat, but I think so."

"Then let's try it."

Adaptation. It was something all Shiners were familiar with. They either embraced it and lived a little longer or rejected it and died all the sooner. This gimmick was no different. Just another parlor trick to distract death for a little while longer. Once an idea was presented, it could be broken down into details. With the various units arriving at their designated spots, that was what they began to attend to.

"Because of the storm, Nod will have difficulty sending warnings anyways," said Wilhelm. "The EM fields should scramble their radios even more."

It didn't take long to find places to set the charges. And even their own communications problems were being overcome. Buggies outfitted with transmitters and signal boosters had arrived, courtesy of Rachel. Apparently she no longer needed them for her own operations. The reports began to filter in. Though distorted, it was possible to pick out the gist of the messages. The traps were ready and now they would all wait. The radios went silent to avoid Nod picking up any hints of Forgotten. Providing everything went right, there would be no need to use them until the conclusion of the mission.

"So tell me," Elijah said as they lay on their stomachs. "What did your father want you to be?"

Wilhelm put lowered his binoculars and glanced over at the Shiner. "A doctor. He was rather disappointed when I enlisted."

"Rather? From the way you say that, it sounds like he threw you out of the house!"

"Something like that," said Wilhelm. "Let's just say my father's very controlling. He basically tried to lay out my entire life for me."

"Aïe. One of those parents. You have my sympathy, my friend."

"Heh, thanks. Well, my father's wishes don't really matter anymore. If he even knew I was alive, I doubt he'd care."

Elijah glanced over at Wilhelm but refrained from commenting. If their separation prompted Wilhelm to make such a comment, it was better to refrain from asking more questions.

The silence hung heavy in the air as they continued to wait. Unfortunately the Forgotten didn't have the fire control capabilities of GDI. Otherwise, it would have been possible to tag every single Nod tank with at least one rocket or shell. This way, a few might survive unscathed after the first round. Thus they were forced to improvise once more.

"Do you hear that?"

Wilhelm pressed his body flat. "No, but I'm starting to feel it."

Something heavy was approaching. Hopefully it was somethings. The rumbling came closer and the Forgotten readied their weapons. All of them waited for the signal but kept a finger on their triggers. Soon enough a trio of Tick Tanks rolled forward, their turrets swerving around. A few buggies rolled next to the trucks while the tanks formed a shell around the entire convoy.

The lead tank was almost upon them when a bright flash struck it. Wilhelm had his sights set and pulled the trigger. What followed was a cascade of fire and light that flashed amongst the lead tanks. Their crew were obviously confused at what had happened and stopped to try to figure out what had happened. Wilhelm didn't give them the chance. The rifle cracked and a second tank went up in flames. That was all the signal his other troops needed.

Rockets and cannons let loose, smashing into the side armor of the tanks. More fires started and many of the crews began bailing out. They had nowhere to run as machineguns began cutting them down. The surviving units immediately traversed their turrets and let loose. Explosions rocked the woods and Wilhelm heard soldiers cry out. He found another target and fired. The round blew through the gun and exploded as it struck the ammo. The wreckages built up and blocked the buggies as they tried to maneuver. With their speed advantage negated, they were easy prey for the lighter arms. At least, they would have been had the storm not picked up.

Lightning flashed all around, striking several enemy vehicles but also falling uncomfortably close to his own troops. Suddenly an antitank gun exploded at the base of another flash and Wilhelm swore. It was as if the convoy was a moving lightning rod, attracting the full intensity of the storm down upon them.

"Move back!" he shouted, hoping that the radio could at least relay that short a distance. "Move back but continue to engage!"

His soldiers seemed to hear him as they began to melt into the forest. However, they continued to fire and tore apart what was left of the convoy.

"Wilhelm!"

Turning, Wilhelm saw the trucks suddenly accelerating. They were heavily armored and ran aside the wrecks with surprising ease. Bullets pelted them as they raced away but bounced off. Finally a rocket struck the wheel of one and blew it off. The truck began skidding before finally crashing into a tree. Two more were still going and didn't look like they would stop. Wilhelm cursed but slung his rifle. While his railgun could certainly stop those trucks, he needed something to be left to see what Nod was trying to escape with.

Breaking out into the open, Wilhelm soon found himself the target of every surviving Nod unit. However, his cover fire was just as deadly. Wilhelm ran next to the rear truck but was losing ground quickly. He grabbed onto the end and hauled himself up its ladder. More shots spattered around him but their source was quickly silenced. Ignoring everything else, Wilhelm ran along the top towards the driver's cabin. As the truck continued its rush, he lost his balance and fell onto the cabin roof.

"This better work," Wilhelm muttered.

Wilhelm took aim with the rifle and fired through the side window. It shattered under the force of the rounds and the driver didn't fare any better. The truck was soon out of control and began sliding around. Wilhelm kicked the dead driver aside and forced his way in. He managed to steady the truck before finally hitting the breaks. With his prize relatively intact, Wilhelm jumped out and looked around. The other truck had managed to get away but at least they got the other two.

The battle was dying down and it looked like the remaining Nod forces had been taken care of. Even the storm was passing and no more lightning came crashing down. More of his soldiers were out in the open and Elijah was running towards him. The bigger Shiner slapped him on the back and laughed.

"You looked like a circus monkey scattering around up there," he said. "That was an insane stunt you pulled there."

Wilhelm couldn't help himself and joined in the laughter. His knees felt weak and he wanted to collapse. Elijah was right, that was insane.

"C'mon, let's take a look at what you pulled off here."

Another mutant was tinkering with a control panel. He was already busy hotwiring it and seconds later something clicked. The back door unlocked and was pulled aside. When Wilhelm looked inside he blanched.

"Scheißkerl."

There were many things in the world that symbolized man's inhumanity. The old Soviet concentration camps. The genetic experiments conducted during the Third World War. This was another one. The Divination project conducted by Nod. Inside the truck were sixteen cylinders, each with a human being floating in a greenish liquid. Each one was conscious.

Wilhelm stepped forward and placed his hand against the glass. The eyes that looked back were still alive, still aware, and in pain. It pleaded to him, asking for release. The figure couldn't have been older than himself, yet Tiberium had ravaged him completely. An entire arm was covered with crystallizations while both legs were missing. A single eye almost shined but it only deepened the sad expression. One by one, he walked down the trailer and looked each subject in the eye. Men and women whose lives had been destroyed. Who now suffered a pain far greater than anything he would experience.

The glass was strong, but he doubted it was bulletproof. Wilhelm took out his pistol and aimed it at the head. Somehow, by some miracle, a smile appeared on what was left of the man's face. The eyes went dark as if in resignation, but there was also a kind of peace in them. He pulled the trigger. One by one, Wilhelm went down the line. Every time the occupants made no protests. Each one conveyed a thank you. None flinched. All waited patiently for their turn. Wilhelm emptied his clip and slapped in a new one. When he was done, the tanks were emptying their contents while the corpses now hung there. Wilhelm stepped out of the trailer and put away the pistol.

"Set charges," he ordered. "Blow the truck. I don't want anything left."

"It shall be done," Elijah said quietly.

When Wilhelm walked out another mutant came running up to him.

"Wilhelm, you've got to see this."

"What is it?"

"That truck's filled with cyborg equipment," the mutant replied. "None of it is on anything though."

"How many units were there?" Wilhelm asked.

"Uh, I think there was enough for at least two dozen or so."

"At least," Wilhelm muttered. "So that truck that got away."

"Is something wrong?"

Wilhelm shook his head. "Nevermind. Get what equipment we can use off. We're getting out of here once Elijah finishes."

"Yes Wilhelm."

As the mutant walked off to carry out his orders, Wilhelm squeezed his hand into a fist. It didn't stop shaking. He doubted it ever would. As Wilhelm walked away, the truck flashed and was aflame. A larger explosion ripped through the trailer and sent debris flying into the air. Wilhelm didn't care and continued walking. He'd seen too much to be able to care, or perhaps he cared too much.

It didn't take long for the rest of the unit to hear why their leader was in such a mood. It also didn't take them long to join him. Despite the haul, the ride back was fairly quiet. Little conversation carried on and it was mostly the voices operating radios that could be heard. None of the other attacks had found anything similar. Perhaps it was bad luck that they ambushed this convoy. Or perhaps it was good luck that they ended the suffering of sixteen human beings.

"Wilhelm, it's for you."

Wilhelm took hold of the headset and put it on. "Yeah?"

"Wilhelm, you're being recalled back home," the voice said.

"Why? I've still got work to do."

"Elijah can handle it. Apparently the request came in from Dr. Rossignol."

"Grace?" Wilhelm said, surprised.

"That's all I know."

"All right, fine," Wilhelm said and handed the headset back to Elijah.

This was unprecedented. Though there was no formal chain of command, it was highly unusual for a non-combatant to influence the activities of the Forgotten militia. Hopefully it wasn't anything major, but Wilhelm knew that to be a dim hope. Grace wouldn't call him back for anything minor. The good doctor had an objective. At the next stop, Wilhelm hopped off and nodded to Elijah.

"Take care of the troops. I expect to see all of them again."

"Don't worry about it. Just go see what the doc wants."

Wilhelm allowed a weak smile before getting into another jeep. The ride was bumpy but it was faster than using a bus or truck. Since it was just him and the driver, Wilhelm relaxed in the silence. With only his mood dark, he could concentrate better. The truck that got away might have been carrying more cyborg equipment, or it might have been carrying people about to be turned into cyborgs. It was doubtful he would ever know which was true, and that fact ate at him. There was nothing he could do for now so Wilhelm tried to get some sleep. It was a long ride home and he needed the rest. Hopefully his dreams would give him some peace.

+Mutant Encampment+

A bump shook Wilhelm awake. It was already dark but his eyes adjusted quickly and he made out the encampment gates. The vehicle rolled to a stop and after a quick check was allowed in. Everything seemed rather quiet, which seemed odd for the usually busy camp. Wilhelm walked over to the clinic, since Grace seemed to spend even nights there sometimes. He heard something rustle and peaked in.

"Grace?"

Movement sounded and a flustered doctor appeared. She adjusted her glasses and looked over at him.

"Wilhelm! You're back already."

"Yeah," Wilhelm said and entered. "You had me recalled?"

"Yes. Yes I did."

A moment of awkward silence suspended itself between them. Wilhelm cleared his throat, waking Grace from her trance.

"Oh, sorry. It's just that. Well."

The doctor's voice sounded almost weak, something Wilhelm wasn't used to. He always saw her as capable of withstanding anything. In fact, she acted as support for the entire settlement.

"Grace, what's wrong?"

"Come with me," Grace suddenly said and turned.

Wilhelm quickly followed her deeper into the clinic. While he had walked through here many times before, there were rooms he had never entered before. They stopped before one of them. Privé was painted on it. When she opened it, Wilhelm froze. His mind stopped working as uncomfortable conclusions began surfacing. He forced himself to think and admit to himself what this was. It was the clinic's morgue.

"I'm sorry," Grace said softly.

At the moment there was only one body present. Usually Grace completed writing death certificates for the bodies here and they were then buried. Obviously she had waited for this one. Wilhelm moved slowly and stopped before the table. He pulled back the sheet and sank to his knees. For the first time since his arrival, he didn't hold back. Tears welled in his eyes and began flowing down. He reached out and stroked the cold face. Each finger lingered, remembering the familiar feel. Each crystal was where he remembered them to be. The smoothness remained perfect even in death.

"Gone for a while, huh?"

Rising once more, Wilhelm looked down at the sleeping face. He gently placed a kiss on her forehead before fully standing. The tears stung his face and several droplets touched her delicate face. Wilhelm wiped them away as he looked down upon her once more.

"Goodbye, mein Liebling."

Wilhelm slowly covered the face once more. He took care as he laid down the sheet and remained standing there for several moments. His face felt raw but he didn't care. He barely felt it compared to his beating heart. When Wilhelm came out, Grace was waiting. She didn't look much better and closed the door behind him.

"Get some rest," Grace said gently. "You'll need it for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

Something in those words forced him to nod. Tomorrow was another day. Wilhelm walked back to the house he shared with Gerald and Grace. He collapsed in his bed and closed his eyes. The tears continued to come and did not cease until sleep overtook him.

"Wilhelm, are you awake?"

The young man snapped awake and sat up. He was back in his room and his face felt dry. The memories were even faster in returning. Wilhelm fell back onto the bed and lay there. The door opened and Gerald stepped in. He sat next to his tenant and conveyed his message.

"Rachel's funeral is going to be in an hour or so. You should get ready."

Wilhelm turned and looked at the speaker. "Funeral?"

"Rachel was very specific about what she wanted done to her body in her will. She wished her body to be cremated."

"I see."

"You might want to get cleaned up. It wouldn't do to show up like that. Others would see it as disrespectful."

Gerald left the young man alone to his thoughts. Grieving certainly had a place and a funeral was supposed to be part of that grieving. Wilhelm proceeded to wash off the dried tears. Rachel would know he was sad, that he missed her, that he loved her. No need to show the rest of the world his heart. He changed into a fairly clean shirt and smoothed out the wrinkles as best he could. On the chair was a jacket with a green GDI emblem. It was the jacket he had brought with him and disappeared after the first day. There were no holes and it was in relatively good shape. He threw it on and noticed a single green star on his left shoulder. Someone had obviously made a few modifications.

Wilhelm stepped out into the sunlit morning and paced himself as he headed towards the pyre. Many others were already there, each having staked a spot around the circle. However, as he approached, a path was made for him. Murmurs passed between the mutants and all gave him at least one look. The various soldiers that had fought with him or Rachel nodded respectfully as he stood by them.

The pyre was completed and an honor guard stepped forward. Between them was a simple coffin that they treated as if it were fine china. They marched together and held the coffin high before setting it down. Gerald followed with a lit torch but instead of touching it to the pyre stood still.

"Rachel was like a daughter to me," he said. "I watched her come here, a frightened child who had lost her home. I helped her grow and stood by as she became stronger. She was a child shared by all of us elders, for she was forever restless. But she remained in many ways one of mine. As she always will."

Turning, Gerald stepped up to Grace and handed the torch to her. He then moved aside for his other daughter.

"Rachel was a sister to me," she began. "She was a sister to all of us. An older sister that watched out for us, or a younger sister that required watching. She was both to me. I watched over her as she kept an eye on me. We were there together, whether to laugh or cry. She is my sister."

With her turn done, Grace approached Wilhelm. When she held out the torch, Wilhelm didn't know what to do. His hand moved of its own volition and took hold of the burning piece of wood. As he held it, his voice soon betrayed him.

"Rachel. Rachel gave me something. She gave her heart. She gave me her trust. She gave me her compassion. She gave me her humanity. And she gave me her life, what little she had left. She gave me her world, and what I gave in return pales in comparison. After all, I could not give her a future, but that is what she gave me. She is my love."

Wilhelm stood there for a moment as his own words sank in. Everything he said was true and he meant every word.

"Set the fire and throw the torch on," Grace whispered to him.

He stepped forward and lowered the torch. The flames leapt eagerly onto the dry wood. They spread quickly and encircled the coffin. Wilhelm let go of the torch and watched it join its brethren. He stepped back to join the others and straightened. With his eyes locked on the fire, his arm rose and settled into a respectful salute. Then, one by one, the soldiers whose purpose was to defend the encampment and its people raised their arms as well. They joined Wilhelm in one final farewell to their commander and friend.

End of Chapter 8

This chapter actually got finished fairly quickly after the completion of chapter seven. However, I waited to post it mainly to see if I could get any more reviews out of chapter seven. Most of it was written while listening to two songs, Pain and Spirit, from the Xenosaga I OST. That might or might not make sense to you, but I recommend the songs.

And before anyone tries to construe anything in this story to be a political message, seriously, don't. It's fiction. You can agree or disagree with Wilhelm's actions, but I wrote that as part of a fictional story, nothing more. Though I would certainly hope gamers are smart enough to see the lines between entertainment and reality.

Regarding the EMP attracting lightning, I'm basing it off the little physics I learned in AP Physics. However, the general idea is that it is possible to attract lightning strikes. Theoretically, this might actually work. Just, don't try it.

I also had to reload this chapter because I forgot to include the battle with the lightning scene. Next chapter is halfway done as of the reload.

Z98


	9. Chapter 9

I think I'm at the halfway point. Let's see how much further I get.

In answering more questions, I took the AP Physics C, both Mechanics and E&M. E&M was a pain in the ass. I think everyone who took the 2006 E&M with Calculus would agree with me. Anyways, the idea regarding an EMP and lightning. Generally, EMPs are bursts of electromagnetic energy. Electromagnetic, which is basically a magnetic field created through electrical charge. This can charge an object, especially if it is metal. Lightning is simply when charges on the ground connect with opposite charges in the sky. One of the reasons people are told not to hide under trees during lightning storms is because trees are taller, thus shortens the path of the lightning bolt. On the other hand, creating a charge on the ground during a lightning storm that isn't properly insulated or shielded is just as bad, theoretically. The charges present, providing they are the opposite of the ones in the sky, will try to go up and then become lightning themselves, with whatever is generating the charge as the source. With predictable results for said source. Of course, this is all theoretical.

I guess I should also mention I was outside one day when a lightning bolt struck a power station in town, which knocked out power for many people. I wasn't close to the station, but I was close enough to see the strike and the resulting purple flash.

Chapter 9: Random Chance

Wilhelm remained motionless as he stared unblinking into the computer screen. The lines of text rolled on down but they might as well have been invisible. Little registered in his mind as the seconds ticked away. There was plenty of work to do but little of it was capable of holding his attention. Thus he sat numbly before the laptop and let the list scroll onwards. He would have continued on like like that for a while longer had not the good doctor interrupted. A small plastic bottle struck his head and nearly knocked Wilhelm back but he caught it as it bounced off.

"Huh? What was that for?"

"Keep up with your pills or you really will become a vegetable," Grace said as she walked off.

Wilhelm looked at the bottle and read the label to himself. "Oxycodone, Percodan, Endocet, my my. What a wonderful cocktail of painkillers."

This was a sampling of drugs Wilhelm was now forced to take to keep his condition in check. Another bottle sat on his desk, this one labeled Neumune. Designed to promote production of white blood cells and platelets, it was about the only thing that had any effect against the Tiberium radiation poisoning his system. More of his fellow mutants died from infections than were claimed by a bullet.

Shaking his head, Wilhelm popped open the top and shook out two pills. He downed them without any water and set aside the rest. Maybe the pills would knock him out long enough to let him rest. They weren't good for much else anyways. Wilhelm laid his head back and closed his eyes. In his mind, his memories played back over and over again. A time when he had found a moment of stability in an otherwise chaotic life. Now everything seemed to be slipping away. Who would join Rachel next? Who else would he lose?

The world was falling apart around him and there was nothing he could do about it. Or he could fight to keep it together. Too bad a bullet was useless against a disease.

"Wilhelm, you up?" Gerald called into his room.

Wilhelm stood and walked out. Either the medicine was kicking in or something else was making his mind numb.

"Did you need something?"

"Have you finished the inventory yet? I'll be needing it to resupply your team."

Wilhelm scratched his head. "Inventory?"

Gerald blinked. "You forgot?"

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," said Wilhelm. "I don't remember ever getting an inventory to do."

This time the older man frowned. "You sure you're fine?"

Wilhelm shrugged. "That depends on how you define fine. And since you guys don't have a psychiatrist here, I don't see how you could definitively state whether I'm fine or not."

"The way you're acting now, I suspect would qualify for not fine. Here, sit down and keep an old man company."

Reluctantly, Wilhelm took a seat across from Gerald and glanced at him. His host continued working on the papers along with keeping an eye on him.

"Why didn't I know," Wilhelm began, "about your relation to Rachel?"

"Was there a reason for you to have suspected?" Gerald replied.

"Maybe. She did put me up with you."

"True enough. But what else did you have to go on? Rachel no longer lived with us. She had more or less moved out on her own."

"Grace was her best friend," Wilhelm continued. "I really didn't see it coming."

"And should you be ashamed? People here often take for granted common knowledge, especially when it comes to family and friends. Everyone simply assumed you knew."

"Another sign that I'm one of you now?"

"You can look at it that way. Is that what's bothering you?"

"Probably not. I think it's just an excuse. Where's that inventory I was supposed to do?"

"You sure you're up to it? Everyone will understand if you need some time to recover."

"Everyone," Wilhelm muttered. "Does everyone get time to rest and recover?"

Gerald grimaced. "No."

"Then if I were really one of you, I'd be no exception."

"I left the disk in your room. You should have seen it."

Wilhelm stood and peered into his room. Besides the usual ZIP disks, there was nothing new.

"Are you sure?"

Gerald nodded. "Is it missing?"

"That would be a bad thing. What was on it?"

"Records of your team's equipment."

Wilhelm swore under his breath and continued rummaging through the disks. All of them were already labeled by him and marked as backups. Whatever Gerald had left behind, it was missing now.

Wilhelm grabbed his radio and immediately put out a call. "Elijah, you there?"

A few seconds later came the answer. "Wilhelm, you're up. You need something?"

"Got a problem here. Gerald left me a disk with inventory information on our squad, but I can't find it anywhere."

"Inventory? What, you mean on a ZIP disk?"

Wilhelm stopped his search. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"Cause I have it."

"What? How the hell did you get it?"

"No need for yelling," Elijah said. "The good doctor gave it to me, told me to take care of it for you."

Wilhelm's mouth opened, stopped, and closed again. "Bloody. All right, fine. Just get it back to Gerald so he can get us our stuff."

"You mean you didn't know she had it?"

"As I said, whatever. I'll take care of it."

Wilhelm turned off the radio and walked out to the living room. "Problem's taken care of. Elijah will get it back to you later."

"Oh? And how did it fall into his hands?"

"Grace. Trying to help me."

Wilhelm headed for the front door when Gerald's voice stopped him.

"Wilhelm, she is trying to help you. Remember that."

"I know she is. And I appreciate it. It's just that, I have to protect her in some ways too."

When Wilhelm first arrived, he was stared at because of his GDI uniform. While he was wearing one again, the looks were sympathetic instead of curious or scornful. Wilhelm found Elijah without much effort and nodded.

"How are things looking?"

"Bullets and guns are easy to come by these days," the mutant commander said. "You pulled off a miracle once during our last raid. You want to pull off another?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"We can't get reliable communications, that's what. And without that, I'm having trouble getting the supplies I need. And a few other things I want."

Wilhelm stared at the bigger man. "I'm a soldier. What would I know about communications?"

"Then we're in merde. We may have got a nice haul in the last few raids, but I sure as hell ain't looking forward to a meal of bullets."

Wilhelm grimaced. Food was a major weakness of the Forgotten. They simply had no real way of growing anything on a large scale so quite a large amount came in from GDI. Then something struck him.

"Dark fiber."

"Huh?" Elijah gave his comrade a puzzled look.

"In the 1990s, during the tech bubble, a lot of telecommunications companies laid down lots of fiber optic cables. Because of various things, such as the war between Nod and GDI, the bubble burst and the demand never really picked up. So a lot of it is unused. GDI and the rest of the first world nations all moved more towards satellite based communications because of more and more land being covered by Tiberium, so there's probably lots of unused fiber even in Europe."

"And if we can figure out a way to tap into them, we've got ourselves a hidden network! I thought you said you didn't know anything about communications."

"As a sniper, I often had to act as a spotter for bombing runs and other strikes as well," Wilhelm replied, "and I needed a radio or something to send that information back. Thus for some reason I was thrown through an introductory course in signals and stuff. Dark fiber was mentioned as something of a sidenote, though I still don't know why."

"Well I'm glad it did, and I'm glad you have a memory for junk like that," Elijah said with a laugh. "Now, figuring out how to get it all to work-"

"Will not be done by me," Wilhelm interrupted. "I am not an engineer. If you showed me the equipment, I'm more liable to shoot it. I'm a bloody soldier. Now can I have that disk?"

Elijah pulled it out of his pocket and laid it in Wilhelm's hand. Before he could put it away, Elijah gripped his hand.

"I know the good doctor well, and she gave this to me to do for a reason."

"And you should know me well enough that you don't need to worry about me," said Wilhelm.

Elijah grunted. "True, but I know you as a soldier. Grace knows you as a person."

Wilhelm found himself somewhat confused at the statement, though he had an idea of what Elijah meant. Still, it didn't mean he knew how to respond.

"Are all you Shiners so philosophical?"

"No, we're just reflective. Now get going, you blunt!"

Letting out a chuckle, Wilhelm headed off for his room once more. The day certainly had given him more to brood about.

Forgotten Forward Base+

Because he instigated the idea, Wilhelm found himself sitting in on the meeting with the Forgotten engineers. Despite his repeated declaration that he knew nothing about communications, the engineers kept asking for his opinion and suggestions. It wasn't until after the first meeting that Elijah bothered to inform him that since it was his idea, he was more or less in charge of it. The entire venture provided a distraction from his moping but also left him exhausted at the end of the day. Combined with his usual duties in training Forgotten soldiers, it left little time to compile and edit the profiles of the project.

Rachel's project. Now his project. With her death, it seemed he had inherited it. Envelopes with papers and pictures were beginning to pile up as he struggled to go through all of them. The number of people actually working on the project surprised him. The fact that they accepted him automatically as the coordinator was even more so. The Forgotten were an incredibly fluid society. Leadership responsibilities were handled and even distributed amongst their members. Not just leadership responsibilities, but also the general workload. It was quite amazing, the result of the unity that each member of the Forgotten shared.

The text continued to scroll past his eyes as his thoughts immersed his consciousness. He probably should be looking over the messages and suggestions sent to him about the training, but Wilhelm couldn't concentrate. He felt the urge to lash out at something, preferably Nod. The work he was engaged in here might be important but it didn't supply the same satisfaction as blowing something up. He needed to do something. Which was why when the first team of engineers left to begin scouting out potential dark fiber, Wilhelm was leading the team of soldiers guarding them.

He remained edgy as the engineers began digging up the cables. A tight perimeter surrounded them as they worked, though every effort was made to stay quiet. Dirt began to pile up before finally they exposed a segment of cable. That was when the work became more delicate. Unlike old copper wires, one couldn't tap into fiber optics without disrupting the transmission of signals, at least not without special equipment. Wilhelm looked down into the hole and watched as that equipment was set up. Somehow, the Forgotten always got whatever equipment they might need. Sometimes it was older, sometimes it broke down, but they always got it.

"Clear," an engineer said. "I don't see anything happening. This line is dead."

After his pronouncement work began to tap the line. At that point Wilhelm went back on watch. He doubted he would understand what they were doing anyways. The work went quickly and soon the hole was refilled. A single transmitter poked out of the soil but was camouflaged with a fake rock. Now it was onto the next site.

While the work was certainly important, it was also tedious for soldiers like Wilhelm. He tried to remain alert as they bounced along. Trees raced past them, an odd display of the effects of Tiberium. Some still resembled the trees of an untarnished Earth, though they too hinted at the ravages of the alien material. Others would have been distinctly alien thirty years ago, their fluorescent qualities casting an eerie glow upon the land. Beautiful, but like all beauties, extremely dangerous.

"Wilhelm, we're almost to the next site."

Wilhelm nodded and began scanning the area with his rifle. He'd need to get a scope mounted someday. With the range a railgun was capable of, it could easily serve as a sniper weapon. Overkill it definitely was, but it worked. The soldiers jumped out and again fanned out. Wilhelm focused his mind as he joined them. The last thing they needed was an absentminded commander.

This regions was quieter than the last, with even the Tiberium creatures silent. It just made every other noise all the more suspect. When the engineers finished setting the transmitter and ensured it worked, everyone was glad to move on. By now the soldiers were really bored but none honestly wanted something to happen. When it did, they usually brought back someone in a bodybag. Then again, there were peaceful ways for something to happen.

"Wilhelm!"

Looking back, Wilhelm saw one of the engineers waving at him. He jumped into the hole and waited for an explanation.

"This line is live."

Wilhelm blinked. Then he blinked again. By the third one, the engineer knew to clarify.

"This line is supposed to be dead, since no one is around to use it. But I'm detecting data being transmitted through it."

"Who is it from?" Wilhelm asked.

The engineer shrugged. "I'll need more time to determine. But we can't attempt to intercept any of it. That'd give us away."

"Do what you can," said Wilhelm. "We'll make do with whatever you can get."

What was an almost routine outing was finally getting interesting. A few possibilities surfaced. Random civilians that were stubborn enough to live in this hellhole, maybe another group of mutants that had the same idea as him, or even GDI making use of old lines. Yet none of those sounded convincing. Wilhelm felt his mind become more and more sure it was Nod. And if it was Nod, he'd have plenty of opportunity to vent his frustration.

The troops were back at the base shortly and the engineers began examining the route of the line. It would take time to trace it and find where the data was being sent. As Wilhelm looked at the map, he frowned. There was nothing there. Even from the latest GDI satellite images they had managed to steal, there was no sign of activity along the cable. Thus more engineers were sent out to dig up the lines. They would need to do this the hard way.

Wilhelm sat in front of the map and stared blankly at it. He was back to doing nothing again while waiting for reports to come in. Even now, he wasn't used to sitting around. He was a foot soldier, not some commander. At least, he wasn't before.

A fist bonked him on the head and Wilhelm nearly fell out of his chair. When he looked up, Elijah had a huge grin on his face.

"I hear you as trouvé le filon," he said.

"What does that mean?"

"Blah, you bloody Allemands really need to join the rest of the civilized world and learn Français!"

Wilhelm let out a snort. "I thought the rest of the civilized world spoke English."

"Oh, you have a smart mouth now, don't you? You're growing up."

Wilhelm grunted and turned back to the map. Elijah took a seat across from him and stared back.

"You know, you can't let this keep eating at you."

"There isn't much of me left to eat."

"And I doubt you're that edible anyways," Elijah responded. "Come now, Wilhelm. If this pans out, you'll become a legend amongst the Forgotten. Not like you aren't already, of course."

"So who would I be a legend to? People so busy trying to survive that they have the time for hero worship?"

Elijah shook his head. "Think of it more as offering hope. After all, what's the point of surviving if there isn't hope?"

"Then I'll give them hope. But I'll do it in my own way and I won't bother to keep any for me."

"I hope you don't intend to lead your troops with that attitude," said Elijah, "cause I'll knock you down before I let you touch another gun the way you are now."

Wilhelm leaned forward and stared Elijah in the eyes. "I don't need hope to live, my friend. I have a purpose in life. I was given a purpose in life, and I'll see that purpose through personally. That means any consequences can be laid at my feet, not at my troops."

The two men remained that way as the activity continued around them. No one paid any attention to the two motionless men until one of the engineers entered.

"Wilhelm, we've, uh, is this a bad time?"

"No, go ahead," Wilhelm said and sat back.

"We've dug out the line in a few more places and have a rough estimate of where the base is."

The mutant tapped several keys and a map of southern France focused. He tapped several places and they lit up.

"We checked the lines in these places. After the third one, we stopped detecting any transmissions."

"So whatever is out there is between those two sites."

"Yes sir."

Wilhelm took a deep breath and slowly let it out before he continued. "Which happens to cover 200 kilometers of fiber."

This time the engineer only nodded. Two hundred kilometers was a large stretch of land to hide in, and that was providing the source was even close to the lines. This was definitely going to take a while.

"Do we have the resources to search that much territory?"

Elijah grunted. "Like hell. There may be a lot of us, but we only have so many soldiers."

"What about GDI satellite reconnaissance images? You managed to steal an EVA, a few pictures shouldn't be too tough."

Looks were exchanged before Elijah grabbed one of the techs passing by. After Wilhelm repeated his request, the tech thought it over before nodding slowly.

"We should be able to get some pics of the area. Though they may be a bit outdated."

"How outdated?" Wilhelm asked.

The mutant shrugged. "A few months at most."

"That should be good enough," said Wilhelm. "And you can get them without alerting GDI, right?"

The mutant gave Wilhelm a look and he quickly retracted the question. The people here might operate differently, but they still had their pride. The wait wasn't long and the map was redrawn to display the composite image. What they saw was absolutely nothing.

"Why do we have to do everything the hard way," Wilhelm muttered.

"Cause life is hard," Elijah replied. "Courage! Considering your attitude, I sometimes wonder how you made it through le camp d'entraînement."

"At boot camp, they basically held our hands," said Wilhelm. "At boot camp, we could screw up."

"Then think of this as life's boot camp! Except if you screw up here, you'll be in even deeper merde."

Wilhelm shook his head. "And you say I'm morbid. All right, overlap the fiber line with these images."

Blue lines appeared and ran down the map. The ones with activity were shaded red and Wilhelm scanned the terrain.

"That one runs fairly close to those mountains," he said. "All right, we do this the hard way. We need scout teams of three at most to begin following the lines. We're start around this mountain. Their objective is to watch out for any odd activity. When they spot something, they'll take note of it and supply us with reports when they come back. Radio silence is to be maintained unless they absolutely need to break it. Oh, and they are absolutely prohibited from shooting first. They do, they answer to me."

Elijah gave a curt nod followed by a shallow grin. For now, Wilhelm was still thinking with his head. He seemed content to move things from behind the scenes and for now Elijah was happy to leave him there. When the time for action came, it should become clearer whether he was fit to lead again.

It would take time before anything substantial could be interpreted from the reports but Wilhelm remained busy. He had commandeered the spot by the map and papers were stacked on both sides of him. One side held intelligence reports, inventory, troop count, as well as a few articles of note. The other side was composed of incoming reports for the project. He switched between working on the two as a way of keeping away boredom, though in the case of the project it was to avoid depressing himself too much. Nonetheless, the project stack seemed to be shrinking despite the flood of incoming files.

A spare room had been prepped for him but no one had seen him in it. From time to time a cup of coffee appeared while an empty one was taken away. However, beyond meals and his morning run, Wilhelm rarely left his spot. While the tactical updates and other such dry facts were often boring, there were a few gems. A few rather bright engineers were working on modifications to the Wolverine to make it more powerful while some seemed to hint at a powerful new explosive.

Whenever a scout team returned, Wilhelm was interrupted as the map was updated. A few sightings of Nod forces were supplied, but they were of small units. So far no harvester had been sighted, which would at least signify a small Nod base being in the region. Either whatever was here was so important that Nod was doing everything possible to hide it, or the entire affair was a colossal waste of time.

"We need a bloody satellite," Wilhelm muttered.

"So you keep saying," Elijah replied. "But we're not spoiled like GDI here."

Wilhelm sighed. "Without a satellite, we can't get an MSA's uplink directly to us. And if we can't do that, we can't risk sending out an MSA. If we happen to move in too close, we're going to alert whatever is out there to our intentions. If there's even anything out there."

"The engineers are still seeing activity on the lines. They're fairly sure something is receiving and sending them. And they believe the other end runs deep into Nod territory. There's something there, it's just a matter of how big it is."

When he heard nothing in response, Elijah looked over and blinked. Wilhelm looked like he was fuming, which wasn't surprising. Three weeks of doing paperwork would drive anyone crazy.

"That's it. I'm going out."

"What?"

"I'm going out with the next scout team," Wilhelm stated. "We know activity is centered around the base of that mountain. It's time we took a closer look."

"I thought you didn't want to alert whoever is out there."

"So? I'll be sneaky. We need to know what exactly is out there."

"And what makes you think you're fit for such an outing?" Elijah asked.

"Cause I say I am. You want to argue otherwise?"

Elijah seemed to consider it but finally shook his head. With his friend's reluctant blessing, Wilhelm grabbed his rifle and joined the next team going out. The four soldiers were given a lift to the region in question but walked the last leg. A sniper continually scanned their surroundings, trying to spot any signs of ambush. The engineer carried some basic sensor equipment, including a miniature customized radar.

Sometimes the inventiveness of the Forgotten scared him. Wilhelm looked at the radar pole and shook his head. Because Nod cloaking systems played hell with regular radar, this system was designed to detect changes in the air flow. Even calling it a customized radar was a stretch.

Once they were closer, Wilhelm signaled for the group to stop. The engineer unstrapped the pole and set it up. They had a direct line of sight at the base of the mountain facing the fiber lines. Tuning the equipment, the engineer began reading the returns. As with digging up the lines, the rest of the team fanned out for the watch. The minutes ticked by as Wilhelm remained crouching. Ever since joining the Forgotten, he had gotten better and better at melting into the landscape. This same ability had given members of GDI Special Operations a certain mystique. Now that he was doing it himself, it felt a lot less special.

After an eternity, the engineer signaled to them and the team reappeared to hear his report.

"There's definitely something down there that we're not seeing," he said, "but it's small. They seem to be originating from the Tiberium fields."

Wilhelm held his breath. "A harvester?"

A shrug. "Possibly. We're too far away for me to pick up much detail."

Needless to say, that would increase the chance of them being detected. Wilhelm considered his options before an idea popped up. He pulled out his binoculars and turned to the engineer.

"Can you give me approximate coordinates for the activity?"

"Possibly, but I don't see what good those would do you."

"We're looking for Tiberium harvesting, right?"

A few moments passed before the engineer caught on. He grinned and nodded before getting back to work. Wilhelm began scanning the area to get an impression of it as he waited. Soon the engineer began providing possibilities for him to check out. He zoomed in but there was little in the way of activity. No dust being kicked up, no Tiberium disappearing. In fact, there wasn't any Tiberium to disappear. In the middle of a Tiberium field.

"What the hell?"

Wilhelm rubbed his eyes and looked again. Right in the middle of the field was a spot. A plain spot. A spot bare of any Tiberium.

"Any other possibilities?"

The engineer rattled off another set of numbers and Wilhelm adjusted accordingly. This time it was near the edge of the field. Still nothing. This could take quite a while. Now, at least they had a starting point.

"I'm going back," Wilhelm said. "I need to check something. The rest of you, continue monitoring those patches."

Getting back alone wasn't difficult and it gave Wilhelm time to think. There had to be a way to figure out what was hiding there. If a harvester really was operating there, that meant a fairly substantial Nod presence. When he got back to the base, he had another idea to try out.

"Can we get satellite images of this area over time, say through the past year?"

Though the technician gave him a curious look, the images were in front of him soon enough.

"EVA, compare the Tiberium fields in these. Do they match expected growth patterns of such a field?"

"Processing. Complete. The Tiberium fields are spreading at an expected rate, however the density of the field appears to be uniform throughout."

"Possible causes?"

"Tiberium harvesting of only areas at saturation level. This results in a layer of Tiberium remaining and also permits the field to expand."

"Thank you," Wilhelm said and he sat down.

Whatever was there, Nod was taking extraordinary measures to hide. Not only was there apparently a cloaking field in the Tiberium fields, harvesting was also done in a way to hide it. Even for a hidden forward base, this seemed like overkill. So whatever was there was more than just a forward base. Now all he needed to do was find out what it was and figure out how to blow it to hell.

End of Chapter 9

Assume they're speaking English. While Wilhelm has a smattering of French and the other mutants know bits of German, they all know English fairly well. Wilhelm because he went through GDI (and a German exchange student once told me they actually learned English before delving deeply into German grammar) and the mutants because, well, they're from all walks of life so why they know English would vary from person to person. But enough do so that Wilhelm doesn't have trouble communicating.

It's always annoyed me how exactly Nod creates a cloaking "field." I understand the basic theory behind optical camouflage but for a field, things become complicated. The problem is optical camouflage basically imitates its surroundings by covering an object. This generally requires a person or object to "wear" the field. Technically, a cloaking field such as one generated by Nod would affect anything that entered it, even GDI units. I know this does not happen in Tiberian Sun, so I'm left trying to figure out an alternative.

The alternative I have developed is based on some theoretical ideas, which may or may not conform to an explanation, if any is given, in C&C3 when it comes out. The stealth generator creates an electromagnetic field which slightly phases out people, vehicles, buildings, whatever was coated with some kind of material that bends light under certain conditions. The electromagnetic field basically "charges" or "aligns" the material and thus hides whoever is in the field, providing they have the coating. Single unit cloaks basically put the generator of the field on whatever is carrying it. The problem for smaller units, such as infantry, besides the power generation that is, is that the field has an absolute minimum. A reason infantry can disrupt such fields is they kind of walk into the field. Because smaller fields are weaker, they break it. Even when under a larger field, the optical camouflage isn't perfect, in that human eyesight can pick up an outline. Again, infantry are better at picking it up because they have the least amount of filtering. Vehicles like Wolverines or Titans have cameras/sights that process the image before it gets to the viewer. Infantry helmets can have various filters, but when turned off the soldiers see clearly and will easily pick out such outlines if close enough.

Z98


	10. Chapter 10

We're about to get into a rather interesting sequence of events. While we know the Forgotten is a loose coalition of mutants, we barely get a hint of their power. It is my belief that of the three powers the Forgotten have the greatest potential. In the games, in the missions where as Nod we fight against the Forgotten, they were very well equipped. Mammoth Mark Is, Tick Tanks, artillery, they have all the makings of an armored force. They even have a damn air force (I'm thinking of the mission to capture the Tacitus). Their infantry are a hell lot more powerful than Nod or GDI's basic infantry. That Mammoth Tank could tear apart a Tick Tank or a Titan one on one without any problems. It's just that they never really concentrated that power. I mean, if ten Mammoths showed up at my base in that mission (and they weren't coming in single column), I would have had a hell of a time holding them off. Thus I think it's time to show what the Forgotten can accomplish when fully united under one command.

I think I should address this, just because of the novelty of it. A few chapters back, someone wrote out a rather lengthy review that examined Chapter 1 from a technical and grammatical perspective. As far as I'm aware of, that is one of the first times I've ever received such a review. Thus I thought I should offer some clarification. Several highlighted issues made me aware of mistakes I had inadvertently made, especially in terminology. That is going to be very useful when I edit the entire thing for submission to PlanetCNC (if I ever get around to it). However, from the grammatical point, I feel I need to address a few things.

I often times ignore the intended use of commas, which is to separate ideas, and use them instead solely for pacing. While that may not go over well with English teachers, the English language is prone to change and and I don't feel ashamed in helping it along. Thus while these "errors" aren't ignored by me, it's just unlikely I'd be able to apply them. It would be a very jarring shift in my writing style. However, ultimately, technical reviews are greatly appreciated since they provide a fresh view on not just the content of the story but the writing style itself.

Chapter 10: Talon

"There's definitely activity," Elijah said. "Our scouts are seeing outlines on the side of the mountain facing away from the fiber line. Lots of them."

From the data off their binoculars, EVA had constructed a composite of the Nod base. "Activity" was a poor description for the resulting image. If this information was right, this would be the largest Nod base Wilhelm had ever seen. The resources they expended to keep the base hidden had to be astronomical. It would also explain the devastating attacks Nod kept launching in southern France despite GDI claiming to have cleared out all major Nod forces.

"I don't suppose the Forgotten have a nuke lying around," Wilhelm asked.

Elijah snorted. "If we did, we would have used it a long time ago."

Wilhelm took a deep breath as he looked at the composite. Conventional explosives wouldn't be enough to take out the base. Or at least they would need too many to pull off a successful sneak attack.

"What's the longest range artillery we have?"

After a few moments a tech had an answer. "We have some old German guns made by Krupp from World War II. Range, providing they still work, is something like ninety kilometers."

Wilhelm's mouth fell open and he stared at the tech. "Ninety kilometers!?"

"If it works," the tech quickly repeated. "These are old guns, as I said. And they're rather large."

"Hell, ninety kilometers, what does it matter if they're large?" Wilhelm replied. "And that raises another possibility. Any of you ever hear of an earthquake bomb?"

The tech nodded. "A massive explosive designed to be dropped from great heights so it would bury itself underground before exploding and setting off a miniature quake. And I can tell you now that we have nothing comparable that can be lobbed by an artillery."

"Then we improvise," Wilhelm said. "How hard could it be to make something that can dig into the ground?"

Glances were exchanged. One of the greatest strengths of the Forgotten was their flexibility, but there were limits to their resources.

"A Nod base of this size probably also has an underground compound," Wilhelm mused. "If we could get the shells to penetrate, the explosion might seriously cripple that base."

Elijah grinned. "Now there's a thought. Still, you're asking for a lot."

"And we'll be getting a lot," said Wilhelm. "Don't tell me you guys can't deliver."

Silence hung for several moments until finally a tech cleared his throat. They didn't know if they could do it, but they would certainly try.

"There is still the problem of targeting," Elijah reminded him.

Though that was a problem, his experience in GDI offered the perfect solution. If nothing else, GDI excelled at coordinating their units and troops.

"Simple," said Wilhelm. "We use fire control. We have spotters triangulate on targets and send back that information to our guns. And if they can be ninety kilometers away, all the better. We'll be able to encircle the Nod base from afar."

"And if Nod sends in fighters?"

"We have MLRS units, don't we?" said Wilhelm. "That should offer at least some protection."

"And if they send ground troops, such as Stealth Tanks?"

"We deploy MSAs and have troops guarding the cannon," said Wilhelm. "And if they make a break for it, we can try and have troops standing by to harass them during their withdrawal."

The other mutants all looked at each other again as they took in Wilhelm's proposal. This was not a light raid or even a major sneak attack. Wilhelm was proposing the complete destruction of a massive Nod base.

"You're preparing to commit quite a large amount of resources," Elijah stated.

Wilhelm nodded. "And if it works, we'll have taught Nod a lesson they'll not forget for years to come."

Elijah sighed. "We're going to need to call the other Forgotten leaders. I don't think we've ever tried anything this big."

"You call them and I'll make my pitch," said Wilhelm.

While Elijah established communications with the relevant mutant commanders, Wilhelm began organizing the attack forces. The first order of business was making sure the artillery worked. As he walked alongside it, Wilhelm couldn't help but smile. These guns had once held back the mighty Soviet war machine. Soon, they might very well shower destruction upon another oppressor.

"We're ready for the test fire," the gunner shouted.

"Move back! Move back!"

The mutants scattered and waited at a distance as fire preparations completed. When the gun went off, several nearly fell back from the force. A thundering deafened the troops as the shell let the tube. Seconds later Wilhelm's radio crackled as the spotter called in his report.

"What? Okay, okay." Wilhelm turned to the artillery team. "The round was off by several feet. Good, but let's try to do better."

After he rattled off the actual impact, the sights were recalibrated and a second round was loaded. Though they knew how loud it could be, the shot still threw them off balance. Moments later the hit was confirmed. Wilhelm smiled and held up his hand in a V. Soon others were cheering and clapping. One gun confirmed working, only five others to go.

Three guns were in working order by the time Wilhelm came back to the command center. One was being stripped and should produce enough spare parts to get two more up and running. A grand total of five big guns would be ready in time for the attack, providing Wilhelm could convince the other mutant leaders to support him. The four Shiners that were on the line were the most respected leaders of the Forgotten. However, two other leaders were not present. Tratos, the de facto leader of the Forgotten, was on the Kodiak and thus out of touch. Oxanna was missing so she could not be reached either. Thus the three women and one man on the screens would be the ones Wilhelm would make his case to.

"The size of this Nod base is larger than anything we've encountered," said Wilhelm. "Even while in the GDI, I've only heard of a few bases of this size and all of them were deep in Nod territory."

"Your proposal does have merit," said one Shiner. "However, how do you intend to destroy the base with only artillery? The shells in your guns, no matter the size, would certainly not be enough."

"I intend to detonate their Tiberium silos," Wilhelm stated bluntly. "We've detected Tiberium harvesting activities and it is likely they have silos to store them for processing."

"How would you even find them?" another asked.

"I have a plan to disrupt their cloak long enough for spotters to triangulate on their power plants and Tiberium storage facilities. Once those have been located, the artillery can black them out as well as use their own Tiberium as a weapon."

The session went on for an hour as the mutant commanders grilled him on his plan. Wilhelm provided enough detail to answer their question, but kept others a secret. There was no point in leaking all his plans this early. Finally, the leaders offered their reluctant blessing and promised to send some reinforcements. The end result gave Wilhelm at least an armored battalion with supporting infantry.

"Make sure I get my men back alive," one of the women said in closing. "If they get slaughtered, expect to join them, blunt."

Wilhelm caught Elijah standing but stopped him with a hand. His eyes remained on the mutant leader that spoke and stared into hers.

"You'll find that I'm quite sharp," he replied calmly. "Cutting something isn't very hard for me."

That earned him a wary smile from the mutant leaders, including the one who called him out. The links terminated and Wilhelm sat back. If nothing else, this demonstrated that the Forgotten remained a rather cellular organization instead of a unified front. Maybe this would be a step towards a united people.

"Don't let her words bother you," Elijah said. "Ashanta has always had a rough tongue."

"It doesn't matter how rough her tongue is," Wilhelm replied. "We got what we want. Now let's use it."

Elijah nodded but paused. "Mind telling me how you intend to decloak the Nod base?"

"Simple. We lob EMP grenades into their base with mortars."

Elijah sighed. None of his comrade's suggestions surprised him anymore, no matter how insane they might be.

"That's going to be extremely risky for the mortar teams," another mutant commented.

"If we do our jobs right, Nod will be too worried about their base blowing up to go after them," Wilhelm stated.

With that said, the entire camp was in motion. Testing began on the man portable mortars while the long range artillery teams continued refining the loading process. Reinforcements continued to build up as the other mutant leaders made good on their promises. Wilhelm again reverted to a diet of field rations and the stuff called coffee by the mutants as he worked out the fire control scheme. Scouts were routinely recording data at the Nod base before returning to upload it. With more raw data, EVA refined her original outline and soon there were even hypothetical locations for the silos and power plants.

Elijah walked into the command center to see Wilhelm fast asleep at his commandeered spot. He kicked the bottom of the chair and Wilhelm jumped as he woke.

"What? Huh? Something happen?"

"Just thought you could use a vacation," said Elijah. "We leave in two days and if you keep at your pace, you'll be useless at the battle."

Wilhelm rubbed his eyes. "No time. There's still too much stuff to do."

"Is the fire control ready?" Elijah asked.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Do all of the teams know their callsigns and their part in the battle plan?"

"Yeah but-"

"And haven't they been rehearsing for the last two weeks?"

"Yes-"

"Then I'd say it's time you took a damn break," Elijah interrupted again. "The troops are ready, Wilhelm. The only things left are details. We have the rounds for the artillery, we have the modified EMP grenades, all we're waiting for is the latest upload from our scouts. You can't keep micromanaging everything. You're going to drive yourself crazy and you're going to drive us crazy. You need a break!"

"And where am I supposed to go for a break?"

"I don't know, home! Go congratulate the good doctor or something!"

"Huh?"

Elijah slapped his forehead. "You didn't know?"

"No. What? What happened?"

"She's bloody pregnant, you idiot! She sent a message about it three days ago!"

"What!"

"Jesus, you really are an imbécile. That message was addressed to you!"

"So how come you know what was in it!"

"Cause she got worried that you were maybe dead since you hadn't responded and called me."

At that Wilhelm slumped down and literally deflated. He massaged his temples and closed his eyes. He had been burying himself in all this work and ignoring the lives of those around him.

"It takes almost a day to get home," he said.

"So you won't go see her?"

Wilhelm shook his head. "After the battle. But I'll at least write her a letter."

Elijah smiled and patted Wilhelm on the shoulder. "The message is still in your inbox. Get to it, you blunt."

"Hey, watch the name calling, or I'm liable to cut you."

The sound of laughter answered him as Elijah walked away. Wilhelm was alone again with his thoughts and he stared blankly for several moments. He brought up his inbox and found the relevant message. Elijah had been right, the message from Grace was three days old. Since he was late, he needed to make this good. Carefully, Wilhelm began putting his thoughts down.

_Sorry for the late response. Everything's been messy here these days. We're preparing for something big so_

Stopping, Wilhelm sighed and deleted the line. It definitely wouldn't do to sound like that. He began once more.

_I'm sorry for not writing back earlier, or for that matter coming back to visit. Congratulations. I've been around long enough to know this isn't something that happens easily. I'm sure you'll make a great mother._

That sounded better, but Grace deserved more. After all, she had looked out for him in her own way while he was at home.

_Maybe when what I'm doing now is over, I'll come back for a little vacation. God knows we all need to rest when we can. That goes for you too. You may be a doctor, but you have to take care of yourself as well. And no one will hold it against you if you put yourself as a mother first._

Wilhelm didn't know whether he was trying to be comforting or what. He reread the message and considered starting over but decided against it. He did feel happy for her, yet something ate at him.

_I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm happy that you found someone. At least I'm assuming that, since it's something that we all hope for. But remember, we're all family. I'll be there as whatever you need. Be it brother or whatever, I'm not going to let you get hurt. So be well and take care of your new family._

_Wilhelm_

However the good doctor reacted, he hoped she at least understood his intentions. He sent the message and slumped down again. The act of writing a letter was surprisingly draining. Wilhelm closed his eyes once more and let sleep overtake him.

Forgotten Field Command Center+

The equipment was still being set up and Wilhelm was having a few last words with his spotters.

"Remember your jobs," he said. "You're not supposed to be a hero, you're supposed to get out alive. We're going to kick Nod in the nuts today, but I wouldn't mind spitting in their faces either. And how do we do that? By staying alive. By taunting them because we are alive. So go out and spit in their faces."

The troops all nodded and began moving to their positions. If things went according to play, they'd all be in position in twenty minutes. Wilhelm walked over to Elijah and let out a sigh.

"Inspirational," the other mutant said to him.

"I try."

Elijah grinned and went back to watching the techs. Even within a building, wiring was all over the floors and walls. In the field, they were all over the ground and hung above them on the tent poles. To keep things simple, the spotters would report back coordinates and tag them accordingly. So instead of streaming video, it was just numbers and letters that would populate the situation map. The screen flickered to life and displayed the terrain but there was nothing yet.

"Gunbound check in," Wilhelm said.

To ensure there would be no leaks through radios until the last moment, the mutants had actually laid lines for communications with the big guns. While the actual laying risked catching Nod's attention, hopefully Nod wouldn't know what was going on until too late. Either way, it helped better guarantee that none of the firing orders could be intercepted.

"Gunbound 1, ready."

"Gunbound 2, ready."

"Gunbound 3, loaded."

"Gunbound 4, let's go already!"

"Gunbound 5, can we have a new callsign?"

"No," Wilhelm responded. "And stop asking."

"But you named us after a video game!"

Wilhelm sighed and took in a deep breath. "Get back to work or I'll change your callsign to Red Alert 2!"

This time there was no reply and Wilhelm shook his head. "How do they even know Gunbound is a video game?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Elijah asked.

Wilhelm shook his head. "I keep forgetting where all of you are from. All right, spotters should be ready soon. Mortar teams are standing-"

The radio suddenly crackled and hissed, taking all who were wearing it by surprise. Wilhelm tore off his set and threw it away. Most of the other techs did likewise.

"What the hell was that!?" Elijah exclaimed.

"Jamming field," a mutant reported. "It's blocking all radio transmissions."

Wilhelm let out a curse. "Order Gunbound 1 to fire at Backup Point 1 with incendiary, now!"

"Yes sir!"

"Try to break through that jamming and contact all spotter teams," Wilhelm continued. "And if you can contact the mortar teams, have them fire off one round each and then get the hell out of there."

By the time he was done shouting orders the first hit was being reported. Wilhelm ran up and grabbed the binoculars. Scanning the area, he saw a massive fire raging inside the base. Even before the EMP rounds could be used, the cloaking field had been completely negated by the napalm.

Putting his set back up, Wilhelm initiated the next stage in the battle. "Gunbounds two through five, begin firing sequence two."

Wilhelm didn't have to wait long. The gun teams had honed their skills in the last two weeks and could switch between the three types of rounds they had brought. Four bunker buster rounds were in the air and he watched as they smashed into the Nod base. Wilhelm didn't know how deep they dug, but the explosions shook the foundations hard.

"Gunbounds all, begin firing sequence three."

In his mind, Wilhelm imagined the teams dumping the old shell and bringing up the incendiary round. They raised it to the barrel and then pushed it in. After locking and switching to the backup firing coordinates, the guns roared once more. A new wave of fire exploded around the Nod base, reducing more of their facilities to rubble.

"Jamming field is down! Spotters reporting that power plants have been heavily damaged, as well as coordinates for Tiberium silos."

"Send them to Gunbound 5," Wilhelm ordered.

"Wilhelm! Spotter 4 reports a Nod armored company is leaving the base. They're-sir! Nod is using artillery against our spotters!"

"Have them pull back," Wilhelm ordered. "They've done their part. Just have them keep watching for enemy units moving out."

Moments later a massive explosion tore through the western part of the Nod base. Apparently Gunbound 5 had found the silos. Wilhelm had seen enough and ran back down to the command tent.

"Where are those tanks moving?"

"Towards Gunbound 2," said Elijah.

"The closest units?"

"A few squadrons of infantry. They can slow that tank company down, but they won't be able to stop it."

"Obviously not," Wilhelm said dryly. "All right, break out the heavy armor."

The moment those words left his mouth, the trap was sprung. Moving in armor close to the Nod base would have been next to impossible. Instead, using the hilly terrain, tanks had been partially buried behind high points. Already warmed up, they tore out of the ground and soon thirty tanks rolled to intercept the Nod company. While most were stolen or salvaged Tick Tanks, a few were also the massive Mammoth Mark Is.

The Nod tanks were taken by surprise and tried to swing around to face the attackers head on. By then the lead Forgotten units were in range and opened fire, blasting through the weaker side armor. Several Tick Tanks were alight and ground to a halt. The other units used their fallen comrades as shields as they completed turning. They opened fire and knocked out two of the lead Forgotten units. After unloading their next shots, the Forgotten Tick Tanks pulled aside as the Mammoths charged forward. They rammed into the burning hulks and pushed them aside, letting loose their dual guns as they broke through. Despite their age, the massive cannons on the Mammoths remained deadly even to modern armor.

Even with their numbers more than halved, the Nod units stubbornly fought on. Four focused their fire on a single Mammoth, finally bringing the beast down. However, the Forgotten Tick Tanks had maneuvered around and came down on both sides. The pincer crushed the survivors in between and the skirmish was over.

Wilhelm had not bothered to monitor the actual battle but was alerted once victory was reported. He let out a sigh and looked at the map once more.

"More Nod units are trying to break out," said Elijah. "A lot of their armor survived and it looks like they're going for a concentrated push."

"Have Gunbounds 2 and 5 shift targeting to those units. Do we have enough armor to try and stop that?"

Elijah shook his head. "Not enough in the area."

"We can't let them get away," Wilhelm muttered. "Are any mortar teams in range?"

A pause. "Three of them."

"Have them start to lob EMPs. We need to slow them down as much as possible."

"Sir, something's wrong," a tech interrupted. "The Nod buggies and bikes are racing ahead of the main group. In fact, it's looking like Nod forces are simply fleeing."

"Fleeing? Damn. That base must be getting ready to blow. Get our units out of there, but I want that damn column stopped."

"Yes sir."

Whatever the Nod units were afraid of, they weren't wasting time getting away. The buggies and bikes tore recklessly across the terrain, completely unaware of the awaiting Forgotten infantry. When they saw the soldiers, it was too late. Rockets and bullets greeted them and sent the units crashing into each other. One buggy slammed into its leader and flipped over while the bike barely avoided the same fate. However, its luck ran out as a rocket found it and another fireball flared. The slower tanks behind saw the fight and quickly veered away right into the path of the EMP mortars.

Tank crews bailed out and began running on foot. Moments later massive artillery shells came crashing down on the now abandoned vehicles. By the time the Forgotten's own armor arrived, the only thing left for them to do was the mow down the more or less defenseless Nod troops. Wilhelm listened to the reports grimly but suppressed any regret. This was war, after all. He couldn't afford to get sentimental right now.

Nod soldiers continued to bail out of their respective vehicles, but these soldiers were armed. Rockets streaked through the air and began knocking out Forgotten armor. Those Tick Tanks that were still running joined the fight and more guns roared. Nod infantry began fanning out and peppered the Forgotten units with everything they had. Machineguns answered and more bodies fell. Both sides were now caught in a gridlock but Nod forces were slowly inching forward.

"Where's my damn infantry?" Wilhelm called.

"They're getting there now sir!"

Wolverines stomped forward, gun barrels spewing lead. Despite the reinforcements, Nod troops continued their breakout. They threw themselves into the line of fire, trying to knock out the armor and other mechs. Suddenly two Tick Tanks blew apart next to each other. Another high pitched shrill sounded before a third tank was aflame. A Ghost Stalker peered up and grinned. The fight was just getting started.

The number of troops pouring into the fight continued to grow as Nod forces tried to punch their way out. With so many enemy units trying to go forward, the Forgotten continued to give ground. They inflicted heavy casualties but couldn't keep the Nod forces back.

"Sir, we've spotted GDI aircraft approaching."

"Took them long enough," Wilhelm muttered.

As he turned around the ground began to tremble. Wilhelm grabbed onto a post as the shaking grew.

"All units pull back!" he shouted into the radio.

This order proved even harder to follow than it was for Wilhelm to issue. Infantry stumbled away while continuing to trade shots while the vehicles tried to void crashing into each other. A deafening boom finished what the shaking began and knocked everyone off their feet. Wilhelm pulled himself up and looked towards the Nod base in time to see a massive fireball rising into the sky.

"Gott im Himmel."

As the fires continued the burn, Wilhelm tore himself away from the sight. Whatever was there, Nod did not want it falling into enemy hands.

"Try to take some prisoners," Wilhelm said into the radio. "I want to know what the hell they had there."

With the base destroyed, the Forgotten refocused their efforts against the fleeing Nod troops. By now the other units had converged on the battlefield and joined their brethren. Victory was only a matter of time.

End of Chapter 10

I have a big ego. Anyone that knows me personally knows this to be true. I also have a sense of humor. It can be decidedly dark but there are twists to it. Thus it is without regret that I celebrate the fact that I have one of the highest review counts in the C&C section. And because of my ego, I thought I might make an observation about fanfiction in general.

I hold nothing personal against new writers. They're still learning the ropes and stuff, so there are issues with pacing and other things. Spelling, I'm less willing to forgive since now that Firefox has a spellchecker, I fail to see how one could let so many slip in unless you're just being lazy. But anyways, I digress. The beginners generally just need time to work on their craft, so keep at it. If you try, you'll succeed. And ask help if you need it. Generally, people won't bite. Generally.

The intermediate writers are actually at an impasse, at least I believe they are. They might not be aware of it actually. The thing is, today people want more and more instant satisfaction. Thus more and more readers lose interest over longer pieces. That's generally what I risk by making Bird of Prey so long (compared to others). I've browsed over a few of the other high review count fics (the non humor ones). Several of them are fairly short in length compared to mine, at least individual chapter wise. That usually indicates an intermediate author or a more advanced author that made the conscious decision to keep his or her work short. So here we stand, with two options. We as authors can either change to give people a quick shot, so to speak, or create a piece with more depth but requires more effort on the part of the readers. I tend to the latter since my writing style developed into that field. However, I've also done my share of short stories (none of which are posted on either this site or the sister site) so I know how powerful short pieces can be. But if you're in for the long haul, short bursts can work against you. Make the chapters too short and the pace suffers. Yes, there is a longer delay in updates with longer chapters and that can also break the pace, but at least with longer chapters the pace is restored. At least that's how I feel.

If you're in for the long haul, don't break your story just to update faster. That will almost always work against you. If nothing else, take the opportunity to learn how to deepen each event. You have an entire chapter to work with. Don't limit yourself.

Final note. Yes, there's another one. I swear the notes equal half the chapter. Anyways, according to EA, GDI has developed a new way to neutralize the Tiberium problem. Their explanation is using a harmonic resonance device to break down the crystals. This sounds fine in theory. Except I see a minor problem. Let's compare this to something else. Say we have a crystal that's composed of various elements. Perhaps one of those elements is radioactive. I remember basic chemistry enough that this is very unlikely if not impossible, but bear with me. So say we break it down somehow, like what EA says can be done with Tiberium. Does this remove the problem? Not necessarily. The radioactive element is still there.

What's causing the problem to begin with? It's not just the Tiberium itself, the elements within it can also cause problems. Providing that composition of Tiberium remains canon, we still have that little unknown element to account for. And unless whatever is causing Tiberium to emit radiation has a ridiculously short half-life, I don't see how breaking down the crystal will do anything. Heavy concentrations of certain elements can still poison the soil, so the leftovers still have to be cleaned up. And the biggest problem is the residual radiation. As far as I know, there is absolutely no way to de-radiate something except to let the radiation dissipate over the years. If there was a way to remove radiation quickly, then nukes wouldn't be weapons of last resort since the radiation could be cleaned up quickly after.

Z98


	11. Chapter 11

The issue with the MLRS is made somewhat confusing because of what they did in Tiberian Sun. I was personally referring to the Hover MLRS, which seems to be more a mobile SAM as well as a SSM launcher. Generally, I've never heard of such a thing in real life. While it's possible to have a vehicle like that, there's the issue of tracking a fast moving fighter compared to ground vehicles. It's probably more expensive to produce a missile that can more or less guarantee a hit in air than one for ground targets. So while their portrayal in Tiberian Sun is probably not the most realistic or practical, I'm following it for the sake of canon. My fault for not making that clearer in the previous chapter.

Chapter 11: God Helps Those That Help Themselves

Wilhelm downed the homemade beer with the rest of his troops. Laughter surrounded him as the mutants celebrated their victory. The beer tasted like shit but no one was sober enough to care anymore. Wilhelm joined in dancing, showing off a more lighthearted side for the first time since his transformation. His first major operation had been a success and the other Forgotten leaders didn't appear to be ready to tan his hide for what casualties there were. The only people that were pissed was GDI, who were currently dealing with the fallout of letting such a massive Nod base remain so deep in their own territory. That wasn't Wilhelm's problem though. He wasn't part of GDI anymore.

The result of the battle hadn't been pretty. A crater sat at the site of the former Nod base, burying any tunnel system that might have been there. The explosive had been some kind of Tiberium-based bomb, so while not technically a nuke, was a close relative. Interrogation of the few prisoners hadn't revealed anything yet, though Wilhelm doubted the Nod troops would break. The Forgotten wasn't adverse to inflicting physical pain but that would have been pointless here. For now they were simply deprived of sleep, food, and water. If that didn't work, they would most likely be executed. The Forgotten were not signatories of the Geneva Convention and neither was Nod. His conscience remained quiet after seeing everything Nod was capable of and the painful lives of his fellow mutants.

The celebrations spanned the entire base. If Nod wanted to take revenge, right now would have been the best opportunity. However, the few troops unlucky enough to be on guard duty would hopefully provide enough of a warning. Wilhelm allowed himself to relax and slumped down onto one of the many coaches pulled outdoors. In a moment of clarity he thought about how much of his old self was gone. Like most other normal humans, he had had a prejudice against mutants. They were a different people, dirty, desperate, and sick. Now, he felt far more human than before his own infection. The emotions here were raw, genuine, and intense. These people, by fighting for survival, had united and discarded so many vices. Their existence was far more fulfilling than the one he had before. No matter what his old life could offer, there was nothing he'd trade his current life for.

When the next morning came, Wilhelm lay limp on his bed. The hangover pounded at his head and he did his best to fall unconscious again. His attempts were soon interrupted as Elijah walked in. The other mutant was also paying for last night's escapades but hid it well.

"Wilhelm, some GDI commander is asking to speak with the man responsible for the attack."

"Tell him to go to hell," Wilhelm replied.

"You have the makings of a fine diplomat," Elijah said dryly. "Get up and get over there. This is part of your job now."

When Wilhelm made no movement, Elijah walked over and began dragging him. After a few feet Wilhelm gave up.

"All right, all right. Bloody hell, if all this commander wants to do is yell at us for not 'informing' them of the base, I swear I will tell him to go to hell."

Elijah dropped his leg, letting Wilhelm stand. He stumbled along, getting used to walking once more. By the time Wilhelm was before the screen his head was clear enough to acknowledge the angry face staring at him.

"You wanted to talk to me?" he said nonchalantly.

"Yes," the GDI officer said. "As I explained to your subordinate, the GDI and the Forgotten are supposed to be allies. Thus we require an explanation as to why, if the Forgotten had located such a massive Nod base, you did not inform us."

"Because you would then demand to know how we found out and thus potentially compromise our source," Wilhelm replied. "That's ignoring the possibility of a leak on your end."

"Are you suggesting there's a traitor in GDI?"

"Why not? It's not like GDI hasn't had its own security problems."

It felt somewhat odd to be the one using such arguments, especially since Rachel had Elijah had used the same when he first joined. Still, it did feel nice to put down GDI's arrogance. He felt somewhat ashamed that he was like this before.

"And you people don't?"

Wilhelm leaned forward. "My people hate Nod. You people are comfortably sitting on your asses back in the blue zones and the nicer parts of the yellow zones. You haven't had to face our hardships and thus those of you who feel your society has wronged you can and will turn. We hate Nod because we blame them for our situation, while your traitors blame GDI."

The GDI officer glared at him but seemed powerless to actually do anything. This confirmed Wilhelm's suspicion that the man before him was nothing but a bureaucrat, not someone who could actually make any decisions.

"Look, if you people have a problem on how we operate, then take a close look at how you people operate. GDI allowed this to happen by letting such a large Nod base continue operating in your own goddamn territory. Keep that from happening again and this will be the last time you'll have to deal with us showing you up."

Before the GDI officer could respond Wilhelm terminated the link. He'd had enough of GDI's posturing. When the consequences arrived, he'd deal with them. Life was too short to constantly worry about what might happen. Wilhelm walked out of the radar facility and stretched. It was one of those rare days when the sun peeked out from the storm clouds above. The light was a refreshing change. He only hoped it would be there when he got home.

Mutant Encampment+

The cheering and waving surprised Wilhelm as his convoy entered the encampment. Not only were the usual guards there to greet them, but workers and even children crowded the trucks. Many of the younger mutants offered mock salutes and the soldiers were perfectly happy to return them. As Wilhelm finally stepped down, dozens of men and women came up to shake his hand. When he reached Gerald, the older man took his hand before embracing him. Wilhelm stiffened slightly but accepted the greeting. The look in Gerald's eyes were a mix of pride and worry. Wilhelm smiled and shook his head.

"There is no need to worry about me. I'm still young. I can still be a little reckless."

Gerald nodded. "That may be true. But for the sake of all us, try not to be too reckless. You have our feelings to consider after all."

"So I do. So I do."

The Frenchman let him go as he continued to make his way through the crowd. When all the others had had an opportunity to congratulate him, Wilhelm spotted the one person standing off to the side. Standing at the door of the clinic, Grace watched the proceedings intently. Her focus was spread equally amongst the returnees so she didn't notice Wilhelm as he approached. When she finally spotted him, Wilhelm almost thought she would run away. However, Grace remained still and waited for him to come before her.

"Doctor," Wilhelm greeted.

"Wilhelm."

"Congratulations."

Grace nodded, her way of accepting his words. However, nothing else came forth.

"So, may I ask who's the father?"

A small smile appeared on Grace's face. It wasn't a humorous or amused smile, it was just one of those women often had. All in all, Wilhelm concluded that it was a cute smile, even if he didn't know what it was for.

"There is no father," Grace finally said.

Wilhelm coughed. "What?"

"There is a father, yes, but not directly," Grace clarified. "Artificial insemination."

Wilhelm's jaw didn't drop open, though on retrospect it should have. He stared at Grace for several moments before coming to terms with her words.

"Why?"

"An experiment. To hopefully allow other mutants to also have children. You know how abysmal the survival rates for children are. Count yourself lucky you've never had to deliver a baby born to mutant parents."

"I see. So what exactly is different, if you don't mind me asking."

"The sperm and egg were prescreened to find ones whose genetic material hadn't been corrupted by the Tiberium. Those genes are far more robust compared to the others and stand a far greater chance of surviving in this environment."

As he thought it over, what Grace said made sense. Still, the entire thing felt rather off. Grace easily picked up on his uneasiness.

"You don't approve?"

Wilhelm sighed. "It's, different. I was raised in a rather devout Lutheran family, so the idea of creating children isn't something looked well upon. But I understand this. And in all honesty, I don't see anything artificial or wrong about it. Either way, you don't need me to approve of it."

"No I do not," Grace agreed. "But you're right. This is very different. And different can be good too."

"So it can. Still, congratulations."

This time the response was far warmer as Grace allowed him an honest smile. "Thank you."

With this final welcome, Wilhelm settled down for a long rest. This place was his home now. However, though he was more or less on vacation, there was still plenty of work to do. Trenches had to be dug for new pipes and various pieces of equipment needed tuneup. The activity was a nice change of pace compared to running and shooting.

"Interesting words you had for the GDI officer," Elijah said to him one day.

"Is that coming back to bite me in the ass?" Wilhelm responded.

"No, no," said Elijah. "We all just find it hilarious. All of us have wanted to tell GDI to go to hell from time to time, but that's the first time I've ever heard of anyone saying it so bluntly since the alliance was formed."

"Having a hangover helps."

"I bet. So, what's your next big project?"

"My what?"

"You know, the next trick you'll pull out of your hat."

"I don't have one. I don't think I've had one since I came here."

That earned Wilhelm a slap on the back. "You need to learn figures of speech. But seriously, what's going on in that little head of yours?"

"How can anything be going on if I have a small head?"

"At least you have a sense of humor now," Elijah said dryly, "though if you're not going to answer, then don't run around in circles."

"You think I have an answer?" Wilhelm said. "I've been trying not to think too hard."

"But you wouldn't want to disappoint your fans, do you? Everyone's waiting for your next miracle."

"I've been lucky so far. I wouldn't call anything I've done miracles."

"Now don't go around saying that, you have to keep up the image! After all, you've given people here hope and someone to look to."

Wilhelm rubbed his chin at the thought. "That's something, at least. Well, I have an idea I want to try. But that'll have to wait until I talk with the engineers."

The other mutant grunted as he continued to dig. Like the rest of the soldiers, he did manual labor here while on break. And like everyone else, Elijah didn't complain. He shared everyone's sentiment about getting shot at after all.

"So what are you going to do about that GDI supply convoy coming in today?" Elijah asked.

"I'll do my job. What, are you suggesting I hide?"

"Spare the thought. I was simply curious as to whether you had something up your sleeve."

Wilhelm grinned. "Is that why you asked if I had another miracle coming?"

Elijah snorted. "Of course not. One would hope your next miracle isn't for appeasing GDI's sensitive ego."

"Good point," Wilhelm conceded. "But no, I'll just do my job, meet them, and coordinate the unloading of supplies while Gerald is standing behind me making sure I don't screw up."

Elijah paused for a moment and looked at Wilhelm. The younger mutant continued to work but stopped as the stare began to unnerve him.

"Uh, something wrong?"

"Hardly. It's simply impressive how far you've gone since joining us. You've built quite the life for yourself."

"Yeah well, like I keep saying. I've been lucky."

The digging went on for a while longer before they completed this stretch. Wilhelm returned to his room and immediately settled down to more work. Profile updates for the project had increased since Rachel's death, forcing him to find others to help with the work. Still, the project overall was picking up, possibly helped by the attention around Rachel's death. Despite all the pain her demise had caused, it at least provided the seed for something else.

One of the new additions to the project were letters children wrote to those working on it. Many were addressed to Wilhelm, but others were for mutants who interviewed or worked with the children. Wilhelm did his best to read and respond, but there was so much to do. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. The work was never ending, but sitting still and doing nothing wasn't something he was good at either. A break finally came when the GDI convoy arrived.

Pulling on his jacket, Wilhelm walked out to meet it. Other soldiers followed and stood by as the trucks came to a halt.

"You intentionally trying to goad GDI?" one of the soldiers asked him.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The mutant pointed to his jacket. Looking down, Wilhelm smiled. The green eagle was still there.

"Well, it's their fault if they get offended. After all, this is my jacket."

His fellow soldiers laughed before turning to the GDI officer. When they saw his combat dress, most of them froze. The man that stood before them had a star on his shoulder, marking him as a general.

"Private Feydrich, I presume?"

"That's right," Wilhelm replied, "though I'm not answerable to GDI anymore."

The general nodded thoughtfully. "That's been made quite apparent. Mind taking a walk with me?"

Wilhelm raised an eyebrow at the request but nodded. If GDI really wanted to start something here, being a general wouldn't protect him from his friends.

The two walked away from the rest of the commotion. The general remained silent until they were a good distance away from everyone else.

"The name's Jame's Langley. I'm the head of GDI's special warfares division."

"Covert ops?"

Langley shook his head. "The special forces and special warfares division are separate. Our area of operation is conducting conventional warfare through unconventional means."

"What?"

The general cracked a smile. "We don't do cloak and dagger. We blow things up like any other force, just with different tools."

"Ah. So?"

"The operation you conducted against that hidden Nod base would have fallen under our purvey. At least the way it was conducted would have been."

Wilhelm nodded. "Ah. So, are you here to browbeat me too?"

"That would be rather pointless," said Langley. "While most of the other high ranking officers would never admit it, the entire operation was very impressive. Thus I came here to meet you."

"For?"

"To recruit you, in a manner of speaking."

Wilhelm stopped. "What?"

"The alliance between GDI and the Forgotten is extremely tenuous. Neither side trusts each other, and for good reason. However, there have been exemplary examples of cooperation, all of them resulting in Nod being laid low. While your operation was a success, consider how much easier it would have been with air support or even an ion cannon strike."

"Easier, maybe. GDI has too many layers of command. An operation of that size is almost certain to be detected."

"True," Langley agreed, "if the operation was undertaking through the usual command channels. But that's where we come in. The special warfares division is designed to accomplish major strikes without an encumbered bureaucracy. We have stockpiles of ammunition, weapons, supplies, vehicles, everything needed to conduct a major operation. And because we have everything, there is no need to request force transfers through regular channels. We just move our own things instead."

Wilhelm was slightly speechless at the thought. He'd never heard of such an entity within GDI that had so much autonomy.

"And what makes you think I want to be recruited?"

"I don't expect you to sign up to GDI again or anything," said Langley. "However, the Forgotten have fighting qualities GDI does not possess. Your individual soldiers are on average far tougher than the infantry GDI trains. Your weapons are just as good as anything we have, maybe even better. And if the reports are correct, you people have managed to field a personal railgun. Your ingenuity is impressive, to say the least. Combine that with the force projection GDI is capable of, and Nod doesn't have anything that can stand against us."

"So you're saying GDI and the Forgotten should cooperate more."

Langley shook his head. "No. I'm saying the forces you command and whichever other mutant division you trust and the force I command should cooperate more. There's no point in involving the rest of GDI. They react too slowly to things anyways."

The proposal before him was the last thing Wilhelm expected the GDI general to say. In fact, against all preconceptions, Wilhelm found himself respecting and even liking this officer. The world was certainly becoming stranger.

"Your idea sounds fine in principle," said Wilhelm, "but do not assume such an agreement would allow you or anyone else in GDI to give orders to us."

"Perish the thought. I'd prefer any field commander for joint missions to be a mutant, at least initially. That way, my forces can learn the ropes and gain some experience in unorthodox methods. Though I'd prefer the second in command to be one of my troops, since they would know more about our equipment and tactics."

"I see. And I presume you have a target you want to test this mode of operation on?"

Langley smiled. "Contact with the Kodiak is currently down. They're in a region with heavy ion activity, resulting in field command falling to me. I on the other hand was involved in another operation, one not related to McNeil's campaign. My own operations weren't directed at Nod's major bases or leaders. Instead, I was working to dismantle their support networks."

"Which is something we try to do all the time."

A nod. "I think you can see why I think cooperation would make the missions much easier."

"I do." Wilhelm sighed. "All right, for now I'm willing to go along with this little scheme. After I get some more details, I'll decide whether to commit my troops to this."

"Fair enough. You'll have the basics before I leave. I'll expect a decision within three days."

That statement signaled the end of Wilhelm's vacation. The general's aide provided him with a disk that outlined the locations of the bases and brief descriptions. Wilhelm couldn't help but be impressed. The Forgotten traditionally had better field intelligence, yet he'd never seen any of this before. In fact, some of the locations were surprising. A few of the larger towns Wilhelm knew to have both mutants and humans living there. The neighborhoods were segregated, but Wilhelm was still surprised to see Nod had safehouses and caches in such places.

The other Forgotten captains of the settlement were soon gathered. Wilhelm laid out the proposal to them and put forth his approval. Issues were raised but no one offered serious objections. They trusted him enough to go along with this for now. With that taken care of, Wilhelm's troops began preparing for another mission. They were seen off by the civilians, all expecting the soldiers to return from another great victory. Wilhelm could only sigh, as he doubted anything spectacular would happen this time around. However, one particular civilian had another reason for seeing them off.

Wilhelm rod at the head of the convoy in a heavily modified humvee. While he loaded his things, Grace stepped forward and tapped him on the shoulder. Surprised at her presence, Wilhelm was a bit slow in responding.

"Uh, hi, uh, doctor. Did you need something?"

"Just something for you to think about," said Grace. "You remember that project I told you about?"

Wilhelm nodded, getting the hint. "You saying I should participate?"

"I am. All things considered, you're still one of the healthier people around. Who knows what you might have to offer?"

As he set down his bags, Wilhelm sighed. "I don't find anything wrong with the procedure. I honestly don't. But there is one thing I consider important, and that's being there for my children, if I ever have any. That is one tradition I firmly believe in."

"I see. It's an admirable one too. But don't forget about the project. If you do find someone, it can help you screen your sperm and her egg so that your child has a greater chance of survival."

The way Grace spoke almost made Wilhelm blush. The doctor was no prude and to have a woman talking about this to him was something new. Finally, he nodded again and Grace walked off, her task done. Two other mutants jumped into the humvee moments later and Wilhelm left the matter for another time. He had a mission to lead.

By tradition, his forces moved to the Forgotten's staging base before going to conduct formal operations. This time, the stopover served an additional purpose. While the rest of his troops checked up on equipment, Wilhelm walked over to the war factory. The engineers were waiting for him.

"Good day, all," Wilhelm greeted. "How's the work coming along?"

"Slowly," the lead engineer replied. "What you proposed is not exactly easy. After all, the Wolverine's structure was never designed to absorb the recoil."

"Neither was the human body," Wilhelm replied, "and I'm not dead yet."

The engineer nodded. "We've strengthened the frame in the arm and the joint. Circuits have also been added to increase power for the railgun, but the tests haven't been promising."

"What's the problem."

"It still takes too long for the capacitor to charge," another engineer said. "As with the personal railgun, this one can only shoot once about every five seconds."

"Which is why I only asked you guys to install the railgun on one arm," said Wilhelm. "The chaingun on the other should help offset that."

"There are other problems as well," said the lead. "Power, for one. To be honest, the Wolverine really wasn't designed for this kind of thing."

Wilhelm looked at the engineers. They were all talented and smart. Each had their area of expertise, whether it be electrical engineering to software engineering. If they believed the task was impossible, it was unlikely anyone else in the Forgotten could succeed. Taking in a deep breath, Wilhelm asked them.

"Can you do it or not?"

The lead grinned. "We can. However, we're going to have to design our own Wolverine with a different power supply and control system. The result being it'll take a lot longer to be able to create production models. The process for creating a Wolverine just won't do for this."

"All right," said Wilhelm. "How many retrofits do you have done anyways?"

"Twenty two."

"Enough for a mechanized company," said Wilhelm.

"Yes."

"Good enough. We won't be using them just yet, but I'd like to have them ready just in case."

"Of course."

With that taken care of, Wilhelm bid the team good luck and left. This latest side project might help the Forgotten down the line, but it wasn't yet ready. For now, he had to focus on the present.

The positioning was fairly simple. Wilhelm had made contact with the mutant leaders in the town and informed them that his troops would be moving through. The request wasn't unusual, nor was it common. How the Nod cell reacted would determine how they would eradicate it. The last stop before they reached the town was at a seemingly backwater GDI base. There wasn't much in the way of heavy equipment, only a single Titan and a few Wolverines. However, the underground told a far different story. Wilhelm was the only one permitted to enter but what he saw was unlike anything he'd ever seen.

"Over there we keep our other Wolverines. We have around twenty right now. As you can see, we rely a lot more on mechanized infantry than full armor."

"If there's urban fighting, armor won't do much good," said Wilhelm. "What about air support?"

"There's a small airbase around thirty kilometers from here. If we need any precision strikes, we call them up and illuminate the target."

"And how many troops will GDI be committing to this?"

"Thirty."

That wasn't a lot, but Wilhelm had only brought about eighty.

"All right, let's hear what your general has for us."

"This way."

They returned topside and Wilhelm called the other mutant commanders over. Inside one of the bunkers was a fairly small command center. A door off to the side hinted at a far larger facility underground, but the GDI officer simply gathered them around a table.

"The town itself is split between a mutant and human neighborhood," said the officer. "There's a good deal of tension so we're not surprised Nod managed to sneak a cell in. Which means this has to be handled a lot more delicately than simply going in and knocking down their doors."

"What's the general's plan?" Wilhelm asked.

"A full incursion is impossible, considering the urban setting. It would also anger the civilian population and risk more of them joining Nod. Especially if mutant forces were involved."

"The reasons are all good and fine," said Wilhelm. "What is the plan?"

"Disguise all of your troops as GDI, performing a police action."

The plan was conventional, was understandable, and was a complete surprise to the mutants. As a former GDI soldier, Wilhelm saw through the concept the quickest.

"None of my troops have formal GDI training," he said.

"Not a problem. We'll be embedding our own soldiers in the units. They'll handle interactions with the locals and other procedures."

Wilhelm grunted. "A good idea too. So what else do we know about this cell?"

"Small. Probably less than a dozen men and women, but incredibly well funded. They have two safehouses, one in the richer part of the human neighborhood, the other in the poorer part. Most of the weapon caches are hidden in the poorer part of town."

"How used to a GDI presence is the local population?"

"Small patrols assist the local police from time to time, but nothing major."

"So over a hundred GDI soldiers suddenly showing up isn't going to go unnoticed."

The officer nodded. "Nor will eighty mutant soldiers showing up. Are you going to bring all of your men with you?"

Wilhelm nodded. "I want to see how that Nod cell reacts. Do you know all the members?"

"Most. But we're fairly sure there's a sleeper agent too, in case something goes wrong."

"Would the Nod agents know what it is?"

The officer shook his head. "Unlikely."

"So we can't guarantee rooting out the entire cell. Unfortunate. By the time we get done with the next target, this sleeper agent might have reestablished the cell here."

"Depends on how fast we move," said the officer. "We can do all this in a week."

"Not fast enough," said Wilhelm. "Give us the names, locations, and some of your troops as guides. The local mutant leaders can probably find a way to tail them. Then we take them individually. We'll take the safehouses after we've gotten the ones we know about. All this can be done in two days."

"And the ones we don't know about?"

"A team can stay behind. The mutant leaders can rely any gossip that reaches them about people acting strangely. After that, the team can pick them up for questioning."

"The tactics you're proposing are very similar to secret polices tactics."

Wilhelm nodded. "Unfortunately, we don't have any other alternatives. If this wasn't an urban setting, we could take out the entire cell with a strike. But as you've said, a direct attack won't go over well with the human population."

"This might do the same thing," Elijah said. "If people suddenly go missing, especially if they're not mutants, the other humans might suddenly become suspicious. The move has to be public. It has to be shown that it's GDI taking action."

"Which is where the uniforms come in," said Wilhelm. "Teams of five soldiers each should be enough to subdue each target. Backup teams can be standing by if there's trouble. To the civilians, it'll look like a GDI police action."

"The local police aren't going to be happy we usurped their authority," said the GDI officer. "Especially since we're military."

Wilhelm sighed. "Do you have contacts within the police that can get warrants and the like?"

"Yes. But that's why it's going to take a week."

"Still too slow. Something might slip in a week, especially if we're working through the system. I thought the special warfares division worked around the system?"

"We stretch the system for our needs, but we don't actually break it."

"There has to be a way," said Wilhelm. "God knows what it is though."

Elijah snorted. "God might know, but that sure as hell doesn't help us."

Suddenly Wilhelm looked up. His face remained blank for several seconds but a grin was quick in coming.

"God does know, and he just told me."

End of Chapter 11

I'm stuck on names. Specifically, what the mutant encampment should be called. And since this thing has been running so long, I don't even remember if I gave it a name before. Any suggestions would be welcome, though they should make sense. The settlement is in France after all.

All of you know about the "shift" GDI undertook, simplifying their ground troops by the time Tiberium Wars comes around. Well, here's my take on how it all started. A certain general recognizing that the investments GDI have been pouring into their weapons systems have not been properly paying off and learning from those that don't have the luxury of spending billions to produce new weapons technology. While I'm not suggesting Langley is responsible for the demise of the walkers, he is pushing GDI to use robust and conventional weapons in unconventional ways instead of using exotic technologies that might break.

As for my other stories, this is the only one of sufficient depth to actually bother finishing. I've given up on working on multiple posted projects at once. That's just not bloody possible. Oh, and I of course welcome comments, questions, and other such things. They're what drives an author forward.

Z98


	12. Chapter 12

One might be wondering if Wilhelm is some kind of military genius. He isn't. However, he does have a very vivid imagination as well as a great memory. Thus this helps him come up with novel ideas, or at least simple ideas that appear novel. However, if Nod considers him to be something of a brilliant tactician, he's hardly going to disabuse them of that notion.

Chapter 12: To Quench a Fire

"Got him in my sights."

The rifle tracked the figure through the crowd as he moved down the street. Wilhelm kept his finger off the trigger, preferring to be safe. Shooting the Nod agent right now would probably result in a massive riot.

"Our guy in position?"

"Yeah," Elijah replied. "I have to say, you're a sneaky bastard."

"Thanks for confirming something I already know."

"Cocky too," another voice chipped in.

Wilhelm ignored the joke and waited until the Nod agent moved away from the crowd. Soon, the man was in a side street and he lost sight of him. Another sniper quickly reported tracking him and Wilhelm let out a sigh. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and ran down the stairs.

"All ready?" he asked once more.

"Ready."

"And our target?"

"Walking right into it. Let the games begin."

Wilhelm cracked a smile as he walked outside in his GDI armor. Three other soldiers scattered about quickly joined him and they went after the Nod agent. It wasn't long before they could hear shouts and crashing. The four took off and were soon on the scene. The few police officers actually around also converged on the fight. The Nod agent was attempting to extricate himself from a fight with a mutant and his attempts intensified at the sight of GDI soldiers. Unfortunately, three more soldiers appeared and they quickly tackled the two.

"Let go of me! Let go of me you fucking blunts!"

"Easy," Wilhelm shouted as they handcuffed the mutant.

A few of the kicks were going to leave bruises, but it was all part of the act. The Nod agent was far more compliant once they had their hands on him, though his protests were just as vigorous.

"That freak started this, not me! Let me go!"

"We saw both of you in a fight," Wilhelm replied. "You can tell us the story back at the station. For now, both of you are coming with us."

"But I didn't do anything!"

"Yeah whatever."

Two trucks were waiting for them as they dragged the two out. Both were already occupied and the two newcomers were placed into the appropriate vehicle. When the Nod agent saw the others, his face went white. Wilhelm let another smile creep across his face before he shut the door.

As they rode out of town, Wilhelm kept grinning. The day of, they'd managed to take all the suspects into custody. With various tricks, search warrants would soon be ready and the infrastructure Nod had built would be torn apart. And with the supposed possibility of more fighting between the two communities, GDI was able to increase surveillance and try to ferret out any backup agents Nod might have. Granted none of this would have been possible without the intelligence GDI had gathered, but it was his troops and his idea.

He'd let GDI handle the rest of the matter. Now they were onto the next target, a more remote location where subtlety could hopefully be ignored. All that meant was maybe they could just bomb the crap out of the place and be done with it. As they rolled into the GDI outpost, Wilhelm glanced at the various pieces of armor. They would certainly have enough firepower to do it. The jeep rolled to a stop and a GDI soldier came up to Wilhelm as he stepped out.

"Sir," he said with a salute. "Captain Alonso at your service."

"Good day, captain. I presume you're my liaison for this mission."

"Yes sir. General Langley sends his regards. He also has this for you."

Wilhelm took the piece of paper and raised an eyebrow after reading it. "A field promotion to major? Or would that be simulated major? That's a bloody jump."

"It is to ensure you are field commander for this assignment, sir. Depending on which force is operating under your command, your rank may vary."

"I see."

"Please come this way sir."

The number of GDI soldiers were far numerous at this base, though the armor they wore were hardly conventional. There was an edge, something he recognized in his own troops. Though they were all good soldiers, it would take some time to earn their trust.

"Ah yes, a package came for you sir."

"Huh? Me? I'm not expecting anything."

"From the looks of it, they're letters that have built up over the past few months," said the captain.

That was surprising. Wilhelm had no idea who the hell would have written to him. GDI wouldn't have waited too long to list him as MIA and notify his family. He doubted they even knew about the change in status.

"I'll deal with that later. First tell me about the target."

"Yes sir. Here we are sir."

Inside the radar facility, the captain brought them to a situation map. He zoomed the image to a small town.

"This village was supposed to have been abandoned a long time ago. It's been used by various groups over the ages, but we think Nod's established a major base underground."

"And you can't confirm it?"

"Not without getting any closer. However, you were able to destroy a major underground base not long ago."

Wilhelm nodded. "We were using modified earthquake bombs fired through artillery. Though I don't think that's an option this time around."

"No, but we have air support," the captain reminded him. "And a deep penetration warhead isn't hard to come by for us."

"That's it?" said Wilhelm. "There has to be a catch."

Alonso nodded. "We think there are refugees using the village as a shelter, and Nod seems to be using them as a cover."

"Just great," he muttered. "Do they have any kind of radar?"

"We're not detecting any signals, but if Nod doesn't have some kind of passive detection, it would surprise me."

Wilhelm was silent as he mulled over the data. "You're going to have to clarify on the passive detection. There's something you think I know, but realize that I was a private before all this."

"I see, sir. Well, generally, encountering passive sensors suggest two things. Either the enemy presence is too small but important enough that they want a certain amount of security, or else it's a large force hiding out that doesn't need much of a warning or much time to react to any threats."

Wilhelm let out a low growl. "Bloody hell. And your opinion on which is the case this time around?"

"The former, sir. After all, we believe that this is another of Nod's hidden support bases. As such, it's more of a cell than a fully fledged base."

"Why are there even refugees there?" Wilhelm asked.

"Simple. We believe they're Nod sympathizers. They intentionally chose to live away from the general civilian population in this wasteland. Nod seems to provide them with supplies and other bare necessities."

"So we'd be forced to displace these people and make them hate us even more."

"More or less," said Alonso.

"If that's the case, then I'm not going to bother with trying to make nice with them. We evacuate them, then we see whether it's worth the trouble of storming that underground complex. If that doesn't work, we'll blow everything to hell."

"Is that your final decision?"

Wilhelm regarded the GDI officer. "Is there something you wish to say, Captain?"

"Yes, sir. Displacing civilian populations against their will is not something GDI approves of. If we were to attempt this, it is likely General Langley will run into some problems once the operation became known."

With a nod, Wilhelm accepted this. As far as he could see, having Langley as an ally within GDI was a good thing. Giving the good general more headaches would be something he'd like to avoid.

"Is there any way to see what exactly is under this settlement?"

"Sonic probes would work, but they'd trip any passive sensor Nod would be using. Hell, they might even notice some vibrations if the waves resonate with something down there."

"Brilliant," Wilhelm muttered. "Well, how about this. Instead of this being a GDI op, we mutants go in?"

The captain blinked. "Excuse me sir?"

"These people are already Nod sympathizers, so they probably hate our guts to begin with. If we go in and force them out of their homes and blow the place up, you can come in and be the good guys."

Though Captain Alonso was the only GDI soldier to have spoken during the briefing, he wasn't alone in staring at Wilhelm in awed silence. At least Wilhelm hoped it was awe behind their silence.

"That's certainly, unconventional," Alonso finally said. "And it may work to our favor. There will still be a certain amount of resentment but some of the refugees are likely to be thankful we arrived to help them."

Wilhelm scratched his chin as he responded. "Eighty well armed mutants should be more than enough to chase out a bunch of refugees. We can also use the sonic probes to get a preliminary reading and determine whether we want to make the effort of penetrating their bunker. If we do, I'll need some reinforcements. If we don't, we'll set a beacon to designate the target."

"Very well. I'll need a day to get the bombers and munitions we'll need."

Letting out a long sigh, Wilhelm nodded. "Right. We'll hit the settlement tomorrow. Anything else I should be aware of?"

The captain picked up a folder and handed it to Wilhelm. "The details are in that file. If you feel the need to change anything, try to let me know before you turn in."

The mutant soldiers were given some of the empty barracks while Wilhelm ended up in his own private room. All in all, it was the size of an officer's quarters, though from the looks of it it was originally a spare. He was left to contemplate in silence, a rare occasion he quite enjoyed now. It made him reluctant to do any work, but the result of the battle tomorrow, and by extension the lives of his troops, would hinge on proper planning and preparation. Wilhelm looked at the overhead images and laid them out. From the layout of the surrounding terrain, any approaching ground force would be seen long before they were inside the town. Unfortunately, mutants couldn't exactly show up using GDI dropships, so they needed to move and move quickly. Too bad he hadn't brought any Tick Tanks with him. They might have confused the refugees long enough to keep them from setting any traps. Or perhaps there was another way.

Wilhelm had brought plenty of buggies and attack cycles. If he put them in front, perhaps they would keep the refugees from noticing the APCs behind them. They needed to make sure the refugees couldn't activate any booby traps he was sure they'd have. Wilhelm made note of this and tried to think of any other issues that might appear.

Rubbing his eyes, Wilhelm glanced over to a pile of letters the GDI captain had given him. Looking at the first one, he saw it really was a letter from his family. Or more specifically, a letter from his older sister. She had acted as a go-between for him and his mother, simply because his father had yet to forgive Wilhelm joining the GDI as a soldier. Wilhelm opened the letter and looked over it.

_Dear Wilhelm_

_I hope this finds you well. GDI's evacuated several more towns around us and we all think we're next. As usual, Dad's telling people to be strong and trust in God. Mom's been busy at the soup kitchen, helping feed those displaced by the fighting. We all wish this war will end and that you can come home. Dad doesn't say it, but he does miss you. Mom still tries to get him to write, but I think he's still angry at himself for threatening to disown you. Anyways, you said you have some leave coming up. You should come visit home sometime, you can stay with me. I hope to hear from you soon._

_Love, Karen_

Wilhelm breathed slowly as he folded the letter once more. Flipping through the envelopes, he pulled out the last one from his family. It was dated a month ago.

_Dear Wilhelm_

_We're all praying that you'll be found soon. When the letter came that you were missing, your father locked himself away for three days. I'm writing this to let you know we haven't given up hope and I believe you will somehow get this letter. So many things have happened in the past few months. We've been moved further away from the Tiberium growths and our new home is relatively peaceful. Your father has restarted the church and he's working like a madman. No, like a man with a mission. He counsels many people with family in the military and helps them deal with the anxiety and fear. I'm proud of him, and I hope you've forgiven his rashness when you left._

_Please be safe. We all miss you, Wilhelm, and we pray daily that you'll be found and sent home. You've done your part in this war and you deserve at least a short rest._

_Your loving mother_

The fact they had held out hope for this long was impressive. Yet this letter was probably an act of closure for his family. Should he really respond? He was a mutant now, a soldier with the Forgotten. There would never be a rest for him in the war against Nod. Better that his family thought him dead than know what he had become. Racism remained prevalent, this time aimed at mutants. It would probably be better for his family's daily life if he remained dead to them and their community.

Wilhelm packed up the letters and went back to the mission files. Several pages detailed GDI's original entry plan. All relied on brute force to achieve the aim, though GDI had been planning on using air drops to get close quickly. It also involved relocating the refugees forcibly, with several notes stating that another way had to be found. Considering the time stamp, GDI really didn't want to do a forceful relocation. They had been gathering intelligence on the site for months now and were obviously ready to launch a raid, but until Wilhelm had handed them an excuse to do the relocation, even the Special Warfares Division was reluctant to cross that kind of line.

Despite his earlier decision, Wilhelm couldn't help but think about the letters. His family had endured a lot since his departure, holding out hope. Yet would they see his survival as a miracle, or as divine punishment? The church remained somewhat ambivalent about mutants. Some viewed them as fellow human beings who were victims of Tiberium, while others viewed mutations as signs of sin. His own father had been of the latter, which complicated matters greatly. He might very well see his son's mutations as punishment for joining GDI. Sighing, Wilhelm set aside the documents and got out a blank sheet of paper. His penmanship was rusty as hell, but his sister would have no trouble reading it.

_Dear Karen_

_I'm alive, more or less. I'm just writing this to let you know I'm fine. Beyond that, I really can't say much else. Well, I could, but I think it's better if I don't. I have a new life now and I'm still fighting. After all, I signed up trying to make a difference, and I'm making one in ways I never imagined possible. But that means I have to leave certain things behind. It's better this way, believe me. This way, all of you can move on without having to worry about me. And you really don't have to worry about me. I'm an adult now and I can survive on my own._

_Don't bother trying to ask GDI where I am or whatnot, they're not going to tell you. I wouldn't be surprised if they cut out parts of this letter. Just know that I'm alive and well. Whether we'll ever meet again, who can say._

_Your brother, Wilhelm_

The letter seemed a bit morbid, but Wilhelm didn't feel like sugarcoating things. While he wasn't ready to reveal he was a mutant, his family did need to know they would likely never see him again. Wilhelm sealed the letter and set it on his desk. With that matter taken care of, Wilhelm went outside to get some fresh air.

Some of his soldiers were lounging around when he emerged outside. Others were cleaning their weapons while a few had managed to strike up conversations with several GDI soldiers. Walking over, Wilhelm nodded to Elijah.

"Enjoying your break?"

Elijah snorted. "Break? You're dragging us all around Europe, romping through one Nod hideout after the other. Well, I guess you could call that a vacation, if you were as bored as I was back home."

The chuckles from the GDI officers were reassuring. Wilhelm looked them over and noticed all of them were at least a decade older than him. Career soldiers all, Wilhelm wondered if any of them had a home they cared to go back to.

"So do you get more pay now that you're a major?" Elijah asked.

"As far as I'm aware, I'm not paid," said Wilhelm. "Not like it matters, since I don't really have anything to buy."

"A major and barely shaving," a GDI soldier joked. "What is the world coming to."

"As you'll notice, I don't shave," Wilhelm retorted, "and I sure as hell ain't a real major. No one would get away with bumping me from a private to a commissioned officer, no matter what kind of pull they have."

It was true, more or less. Wilhelm had given up shaving after his first few months at the mutant encampment. The lack of decent razors didn't help, though no shaving cream was the killer. The beard had a solid foundation, but he'd used various means to keep it controlled without having to resort to blades. Wilhelm scratched the side of his face, his hands brushing the green flakes.

"Probably never learned," another GDI soldier quipped. "So, I hear you guys have pulled off some crazy shit."

"Crazy, no, suicidal, yes," said Wilhelm. "Nearly got my ass toasted by lightning, boiled by plasma, and shot up god knows how many times. Hell, if you don't do some of that once in your life, I'd call you crazy."

The soldiers laughed at him and one slapped him on the back. Even if these soldiers were older, gruffer, and skilled than his old unit, they all had the same sense of morbid humor. Probably more so, since they were survivors of previous missions while many of their comrades had fallen.

"So I hear you guys have starting using railguns," a GDI soldier said. "Where the hell did you people get your hands on those?"

Wilhelm shrugged. "I heard we stole a prototype from GDI, then started cranking out copies."

The GDI soldiers stared at him as Elijah sighed.

"We also have a plasma rifle from Nod cyborgs," Wilhelm continued. "I wonder how long it'll take for us to copy those."

"You people really are freaking scavengers," said the GDI soldier. "I knew you guys used Wolverines, but bloody hell, you got the railgun from us?"

Wilhelm nodded. "The GDI higher ups got pissed when they found out, but now they basically see us as field testing the thing. And quite frankly, the gun's useless in many situations."

"It can tear through tank armor," said another soldier. "What's it useless for?"

"Reloading takes a long time," said Wilhelm, "and so it's useless against infantry."

That caught the attention of the GDI soldiers. They all waited for him to explain, as a weapon capable of tearing through armor could hardly be termed useless against infantry.

"The railgun is a single shot rifle," Wilhelm continued. "After every shot, the capacitors need to recharge. Going up against a squad of Nod troops with just a railgun would be insane, unless they were all lined up in a single file for you."

"That's something we've never heard of," said a GDI soldier. "Then again, no railguns are in mass production and our unit's not gonna get any of those. They're for those bloody _elite_ units."

The slur on elite signified just how little the soldiers here thought of them. As for which _elite_ formation had earned the contempt of these soldiers was anyone's guess.

"Ain't no reason to be so sore, McKay," another soldier cut in. "Hell, the General's promised us the first of the production run, and from what I've heard, they're gonna be a hell lot better what what they have now."

The one called McKay grunted reluctantly. "Yeah, that's true enough. But hell, whatever. If everything you've said about those guns are right, then I think I will wait for the newer stuff. Those jump-jets can keep 'em."

McKay's disdain for the jump-jets surprised Wilhelm. Like most other grunts in GDI, Wilhelm was under the impression that jump-jet infantry were some of the best. They were suicidally brave to be up in the air, especially against Nod's AA, and they were also good at their jobs. However, there was one branch of GDI that looked down upon the jump-jets.

"You guys are all part of Space Command, aren't you?" Wilhelm stated more than asked.

The GDI soldiers all burst out into laughter and several nodded. "Hell yes! We're not some pansies floating up their in the sky, we're dropping down at near terminal velocity! There's no rush quite like it."

If the jump-jets were suicidally brave, then the orbital drop teams were criminally insane. Quite a few were stationed on the Philadelphia but large detachments also operated planetside. For quick insertions, several launchers existed worldwide that would put the pods into the upper atmosphere so they could then plummet to their target zones. This base didn't have one, but Wilhelm doubted they would need drop pods for this mission. Though perhaps GDI had considered using such an approach just for the speed. Now with his mutants, that became unnecessary.

"Space Command is part of the SWD?" Wilhelm asked.

"More like SWD is part of SC," said McKay. "Brigadier General Langley is directly subordinate to SC's commanding officer, Major General Ismael Khalid. Of course, since General Khalid is always up in the Philadelphia, General Langley does most of the field work."

"I see," said Wilhelm.

As a normal grunt in GDI's regular forces, his knowledge was limited primarily to that segment of the military. For that matter, he still wasn't entirely clear about the distinction between the air force and Space Command. With all the new technologies GDI was making use of, differences between the various services were becoming less and less apparent. Wolverines were so heavily armored that some didn't consider them to be infantry, even mechanized. Jump-jets were another category. They were technically part of the air force, but many viewed them to be infantry and thus part of the army's purview.

After trading a few more stories with the GDI troops, Wilhelm went back to his room. Though it was the coming engagement that worried him the most, his mind remained on the letters. He picked them up again and slowly read through each one. Both his sister and his mother wrote one once a month, and with him having been gone for nearly a year, it took him an hour or so to get through all of them. When he finally slept, mercifully, no dreams came.

Refugee Encampment+

The buggy was going far faster than was safe, that was certain. They bounced along with the other Nod vehicles with several GDI APCs and an assortment of trunks behind them. Already Wilhelm could see several figures in the distance. The civilians continued watching but when it became apparent they weren't Nod, it was too late. The buggy screeched to a halt and Wilhelm jumped out, rifle at the ready. More troops got out and began advancing.

"Everyone out, now!" Wilhelm shouted.

The refugees began trying to flee but the mutants quickly corralled them. With the rest of the soldiers jumping out of the trunks and transports, there was plenty of firepower to keep unarmed civilians in check. Suddenly a man burst out with a handgun. He let off two short bursts and caught the soldier standing next to Wilhelm in his side. The mutant staggered as Wilhelm caught him as he raised his own weapon. A loud crack stopped Wilhelm as he watched the attacker fall. Another mutant had gotten behind him and had rifle butted the refugee. He would probably live, but Wilhelm wasn't so certain about his own comrade. Lowering the soldier gently, he moved over to examine the wound.

"Medic!"

A long string of curses came from the wounded mutant but he began pushing Wilhelm away. "Still gotta job to do, boss. Yven can look me over."

The wound didn't seem fatal and Wilhelm nodded. He walked over to and watched as two other mutants started dragging away the unconscious attacker.

"Keep him separate from the other refugees," Wilhelm ordered.

Wilhelm picked picked up the pistol and examined it. It was quite unlike any weapon he'd seen before, though there were similarities to the standard Nod sidearm. That didn't prove much, as the wars that'd raged across the world left plenty of weapons for scavengers and the like. When he ejected the magazine however, Wilhelm froze. Each bullet tip had a shining green coat, whose origin was glaring obvious. Wilhelm signaled for a few soldiers to follow and proceeded to the house where the gunman had burst out from. Taking up positions, Wilhelm kicked down the door and they charged in. Inside several more refugees were huddled together and cried out at the sight of the intruders. Non made any move for the weapons laid out on the tables.

"Get them out of here and secure this building," Wilhelm ordered. "For that matter, begin a sweep of the town. Tear this place apart but find out what the hell's been going on here!"

The edge in his voice was evident and his troops took little time caring out his orders. As the civilians were marched out, Wilhelm began examining the weapons and tools. There were dozens of machine tools, all for the purpose of modifying guns and making bullets. However, what caught his attention was a small box set in the corner. There was certain warmth to it, and a familiar one at that.

"Hold it," he said as the last civilian was about to exit. "Bring him over here."

Another mutant grabbed the man by his shoulders and pushed him over. They were still sticking with the plan, which meant behaving just like Nod sympathizers would expect uncivilized mutants to behave. Rags covered much of the man's body and he even had a scarf wrapped around his neck. That was the first to go and Wilhelm grunted as he confirmed his suspicions. A rash was already visible and appeared to be making its way to the man's face.

"Take off your gloves," Wilhelm said.

When the man refused, Wilhelm nodded to another mutant. Once those were gone, blisters and lesions revealed themselves. The man was suffering from radiation poisoning, specifically, Tiberium poisoning.

"Get him out of here," Wilhelm ordered, "and give him back his things."

Wilhelm walked out as the man hurriedly concealed his deformities. He'd seen enough to know exactly what Nod was using this place for. Outside, most of the civilians had been forced out to what passed for the town square. Most looked frightened and cowed but a few put on defiant faces. Wilhelm walked over to Elijah and pulled him aside.

"This place is a weapons production site," Wilhelm said. "Not only that, Nod's using these people to create Tiberium enriched small arms."

Elijah took a few seconds to absorb the words but when he did, Wilhelm thought his fellow mutant would explode. The anger and fury on Elijah's face would have scared the living daylights out of any Nod soldier. Wilhelm felt some of the same fury, but his was colder.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now!?" Elijah demanded.

"How's the sonic survey going," Wilhelm asked.

Elijah took a deep breath before answering. "Whatever's down there is small. I can't imagine Nod stuffing anything down there short of a cyborg commando that could give us too much trouble."

"So it's likely a place to store completed weapons and munitions," Wilhelm mused. "This changes everything. We originally thought these people were being used as camouflage by Nod. Now we've caught them actively collaborating with the Brotherhood as well as creating Tiberium weapons. My law is a bit rusty, but that's gotta be breaking a few human rights laws regarding the use of weapons of mass destruction. Then there's the fact that I'm willing to bet half the people here are suffering from Tiberium poisoning."

"You're saying we abandon the original plan?" Elijah said.

Wilhelm nodded. "Call GDI and tell them to get out here now. I'm going to see just how deluded these people really are."

Walking over to the gathered civilians, Wilhelm looked them over. In some ways, they looked absolutely pitiful. They were cowering, in rags, and obviously in over their heads. Wilhelm sympathized with their situation, but he could only help them if they let him.

"I've only had a short look at what you're people are doing here," he said, "and from what I can tell, it's not pleasant for you either. I'm betting anyone who's worked with those weapons is suffering from Tiberium poisoning. Now the question is, do you still believe the shit Nod's been telling you, or are you ready to get away from all this?"

No one had the courage to answer him and many looked away as Wilhelm cast his gaze on them. However, one didn't need to be brave to answer.

"You're monsters and infidels!" a small voice screamed. "Kane is going to make all of you pay, every last one!"

The commotion surprised Wilhelm and he looked over at the source of the outburst. A woman was trying in vain to hide away her son, covering his mouth and head. Wilhelm shook his head. Kids were insanely impressionable as well as lacking judgment. He now had a clearer idea where these people stood, but just because a child held this opinion did not mean it was universal. So he tried again.

"Those of you that are very lucky will likely respond to treatment," said Wilhelm, "and recover fully. Those of you less fortunate will begin to exhibit mutations and become one of us in physical form if not in spirit. But there will be those of you who will die one of the most painful deaths possible. Tiberium poisoning is very much like conventional radiation poisoning, except worse. A lethal dose of radiation will eventually liquefy your internal organs. Tiberium will mutate your DNA where you might begin to have crystals growing inside of you. These crystals will likely began cutting up your insides and cause heavy internal bleeding. And if that doesn't kill you, the fact that your organs are crystallizing or being consumed by the Tiberium will."

Wilhelm hoped he'd gotten through to a few of them. Reason was useless against fanatics and fear of personal death was also lacking. But fear worked well on people not entirely convinced of a cause as well as those who could think rationally. He'd let them stew awhile as they waited for GDI to arrive.

With all the civilians outside the mutants were free to ransack the various houses. Wilhelm knew the people would hate them even more for destroying what little possessions they had, but he was determined to find out as much as he could. To his surprise, he found that his troops were being extremely respectful. They didn't leave anything unturned, but they also avoided breaking things where possible. Two more rooms full of machine tools were found and Wilhelm looked through both. So far, there was nothing to suggest Nod was building anything more than small arms here.

GDI forces arrived quickly with an entire field hospital. GDI soldiers were each tasked with a mutant guide but Wilhelm made it clear to all the soldiers that they were to remain respectful of the refugee's possessions. It would take a while to examine all of them, but those deemed harmless would eventually be returned to their owners. Right now, Wilhelm could only pity the civilians. They had been used by Nod and still remained deluded. Eventually, perhaps a few would realize just how exploited they'd been and would move on. Those that didn't, well, they weren't his problem anymore.

End of Chapter 12

After reading through about half the C&C3 novel, I don't know whether I want to strangle EA or just blame the writer. In their infinite wisdom to make their censorship of curse words obviously blatant, whoever was responsible has made this book hard to read, and I mean it. Intentionally misspelling curse words throughout is a sloppy way of trying to pretend realism while also keeping the book clean of real cursing. The dialog suffers badly from this crap. Internal consistency also doesn't seem to have been a priority. Dr. Mobius was supposed to have died in an ion storm, according to that data entry on storm shelters in C&C3. But at the beginning of the chapter, Mobius was on the Philadelphia right before the missile strike. Then there's the general flow. Heavily stereotypical behavior, again, courtesy of EA's interpretation of both Nod and GDI. In Tiberian Sun and Firestorm, we saw two well organized sides. Nod might have been a more cellular organization, but there was a certain level of professionalism. No matter their contempt for the other side, GDI acted with dignity and honor while Nod was a determined and disciplined force There was a religious fervor within Nod of course, but there was also a silent professionalism about how they conducted the war. I guess I always found Nod as an organization to be fascinating, and their portrayal within C&C3 is insulting to me. There was a certain appeal to how Nod conducted themselves in TS and FS. That appeal was nonexistent in TW.

A reader once suggested maybe I could convince EA to let me write a C&C novel. After seeing what EA did to the franchise, I'm not sure I would want to help them butcher it any further.


	13. Chapter 13

I was originally going to make this into two parts. However, I've reconsidered it cause I don't think I'd have enough material for the second one. By now, one could say that we're moving past all the fighting and whatnot onto the humanity of these people. I've slowly set it up over the past few chapters and now I think we are at a turning point for this story. In my opinion, EA did a major disservice to the mutant population with just shoving them aside. These are a people, and a proud one at that. They are not just going to run away, they are going to stay and fight until their last breath. They represent just how capable human beings are in the face of adversity for they are human, no matter their condition. This story is my tribute to them.

Chapter 13: Family Comes First

Wilhelm couldn't recall the last time he'd been in a GDI staff conference room. As a grunt, any briefing he received would be in a more press conference like environment. A formal meeting like this was unheard of. Then again, General Langley had proven himself to be an interesting character and Wilhelm set aside any thoughts on the oddity of his current surroundings. Instead he focused on the display and the news. The reporter at least was attractive.

"_Disturbing reports of Nod using Tiberium in their small weapons munitions has sparked a great deal of concern amongst GDI rank and file. With even minimal exposure to Tiberium capable of causing poisoning and mutations, the possibility of Tiberium infecting wounds is a serious worry. GDI officials have tried to reassure the families of soldiers that they are taking every precaution possible, but many remain unconvinced any safeguards would be sufficient to prevent Tiberium from coming into contact with exposed flesh. Nevertheless, recent successes in finding and destroying manufacturing sites for these new weapons have proved uplifting to morale. Rumors have also surfaced that mutant forces were instrumental in the discovery of such facilities, but GDI officials have declined to comment on them. No confirmation or denial has come from the mutants either. This is Elizabeth Chesley, reporting for BBC World."_

Langley muted the display and turned his seat to face the table. He looked over at Wilhelm and offered a smile.

"I was expecting payouts from these missions, but I wasn't expecting them quite so quickly. Well done, Wilhelm."

"Thank you General," Wilhelm replied courteously.

"Unfortunately, with success comes complications," Langley continued. "I'm afraid the publicity is making it more difficult for my forces to operate with yours, at least through our unofficial arrangement. Certain GDI higher ups are still incapable of thinking outside the box and are demanding I do things by the book. Even with my promotion, they still outrank me and as such I'll have to end our joint operations."

"That's a shame sir," Wilhelm said to the newly minted Major General. "We were really starting to hurt Nod's support network."

"That we were," Langley agreed. "However, Nod does appear to be on the run and GDI is committed to pushing them back. Nod forces have already suffered major defeats in Latin American and Western Europe. The Russian campaign unfortunately is still up in the air. From what I've heard, one of their senior commanders is offering us heavy resistance in that front. And with the help of your people we've finally located Nod's main stronghold."

Wilhelm simply nodded. He'd checked up with the other Forgotten cells and learned about Umagon's capture. Unfortunately, the base where she was being held could be described as the most heavily defended Nod base in existence. GDI forces were preparing for a major assault, though apparently a certain rash GDI field commander was launching a strike even as they sat here. Wilhelm wished him the best of luck, but kept his expectations realistic.

"As such, I think your people will have some time to rest and recover. GDI will remember the assistance your people gave and we will repay that debt."

"With all due respect, sir, I hope you'll understand if we don't accept GDI's words at face value."

Langley cracked a wary grin. "Of course. We've let your people down many times before. However, Wilhelm, you have my personal word that I will do everything possible to help your people."

Wilhelm nodded. Langley had proven his word was good, earning the respect of many mutant commanders in the process. When the General extended his hand, Wilhelm was perfectly happy to accept it. Langley apparently didn't share the superstition that merely touching a Shiner would cause one to begin mutating. He was definitely someone the Forgotten could work with. Who knows, maybe they'd have to change their name too.

"Oh yes, General, I nearly forgot," Wilhelm said and pulled out an envelope from his jacket and placed it on the table. "I had written a letter to my sister but I keep forgetting to mail it. Now that I think about it, I'm not entirely sure how I'm to mail it. I'm not in GDI anymore and I don't have any stamps."

Langley's smile was more human this time. "No need to worry, Wilhelm. I'll see that it gets to your family. I'll also have your mail routed to you on the supply dropoffs. If you write any more letters, just give it to one of the supply officers and he'll make sure it's delivered."

"Thank you sir."

With that, Wilhelm offered a final salute before he left Langley's presence. Once a few other matters were sorted out, Wilhelm was riding out of the massive GDI base at the head of his troops. Over eight Nod outposts had fallen to the combined efforts of Wilhelm's raiders and Langley's troops. The constant fighting over the past two months was tiring, but rewarding. Both GDI and Forgotten forces had taken some losses, but they were fairly light compared to the damage Nod had suffered. In the course of bouncing around, Wilhelm had never gone higher than a simulated major and never lower than a simulated lieutenant. Either way, it gave him a taste of what being an officer in GDI was like, but it didn't tempt him in any way. He liked the freedom and flexibility that came with fighting with the Forgotten. Then again, he paid for that same freedom with his life.

When they got home, Wilhelm didn't intend to leave for at least six months if he could help it. He'd kept in touch with Gerald and Grace, using the Forgotten's own courier system. The Doctor continued to provide updates about her pregnancy as well as her work, while Gerald kept dropping various hints. Obvious hints. Laid out instructions, for that matter. Wilhelm sighed mentally, not wanting to draw the attention of a certain nosy second in command sitting next to him. Unfortunately, said second in command was able to pick up his moods without any visible facial expressions.

"Just ask her out," Elijah said bluntly.

"I dated her sister. Well, adopted sister. I can't just ask her out."

"Hell, why not? And even if you couldn't, the Doc might as well be asking you out what with all the mail you get from her! Think of it as saying yes to her asking you out."

"I wasn't aware you Franzosen were so creative in making up excuses to ask others out."

"I wasn't aware you Allemands had such poor memory that you keep forgetting we are masters of love!"

"Of flirting, maybe," Wilhelm shot back. "Besides, how do you know the Doctor's interested?"

"No one else has been getting letters from her," Elijah stated.

"She's just trying to convince me to participate in this genetic screening project and artificial insemination project," Wilhelm replied.

When Elijah said nothing in response, Wilhelm looked over to see his fellow mutant giving him a look. Wilhelm also remained quiet and continued staring at Elijah.

"I guess what they say is true," Elijah finally broke the silence. "It's always the object of affection that's the most oblivious."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Artificial insemination still requires a mother and father, even if you don't get to do the honors personally. So, think. Who do you think the good Doctor _wants_ as the father of her children, be it biological or otherwise?"

This time it was Wilhelm's turn to be speechless. On the face of it, Elijah's conclusions should have been obvious. In fact, they were obvious to any outside observer. However, because Wilhelm had been determined to not initiate any kind of relationship with Grace, he had been blind to it. Maybe it was his guilt over Rachel's death, and maybe it was because Grace and Rachel were sisters if not in fact than in deed. He felt like he was abandoning Rachel and using Grace to escape his grief. Yet, the grief that had eaten away at him for so long had subsided. He had faced it and now lived in peace with it. So maybe he did see Grace on her own, not as the sister of his lost lover.

Wilhelm sighed. "Let me deal with this on my own. God knows this is going to be complicated."

Elijah snorted. "You would have had to deal with it on your own anyways. The only thing I could do was make you aware of the situation."

True to his word, Elijah didn't try to offer any more advice on how to approach the good Doctor. Yet somehow Wilhelm found himself hoping his comrade would offer something. The ride home was also uneventful, giving Wilhelm plenty of time to mull over his possible courses of action. Planning a strike against Nod would have been easier. But beneath his guilt, there was also another fear, that of hurting Grace. Would she think he was only interested in her because she was Rachel's sister? But the Doctor was smarter than that, and she was the one who kept initiating contact. Or maybe he was now making excuses to convince himself Grace was interested. Ultimately, these arguments and counterarguments boiled down to what he himself felt. Did he truly have feelings for the good doctor and were they motivated because he genuinely cared for her? Okay, that question wasn't entirely valid. He did care for her, that was a given. Otherwise this entire debate wouldn't be taking place in his mind. But did he care about her the way he thought he did, and would she return those feelings?

Their rolling into the settlement was met with an enthusiastic welcome, but again Wilhelm tried to avoid the crowds. His troops deserved to be welcomed as heroes and he had no intention of drawing that attention away from them. Besides, there was only one person who he wanted any attention from right now. With all their wounded having been taken care of at GDI facilities, there had been no need for the Doctor to come meet them. A few of her assistants floated around, checking up on the minor scraps and bumps, but Grace was nowhere to be seen. Wilhelm trudged off towards the clinic. Contrary to popular opinion, when one is searching for something, one starts in the most likely places first.

If Grace ever took a break, it was because someone else forced her to or she had just collapsed from exhaustion. Despite her own condition, the Doctor kept at it. No one ever cracked a joke about her working herself to death, as it was a very likely possibility. A few even voiced their worries but few dared do so directly to the good Doctor. As someone who theoretically lived under the same roof as her, Wilhelm decided if anyone could broach the subject with her, it was he. Especially with her pregnancy, he did not want Grace overextending herself. Wilhelm shook his head. Maybe it was his upbringing, but he always felt protective of women. Many didn't appreciate such a sentiment, but some understood such motivations and worked to create a balance between independence and reliance on others. Rachel did that, letting him help but never becoming dependent upon him. Yet Grace seemed rather resistant to letting anyone help her.

"Ahem."

Grace looked up calmly as if she were expecting him. Wilhelm gave her a smile as he walked over. Surprisingly, Grace's features softened and Wilhelm saw the barest hint of a grin. Maybe it was the hormones. Still, Wilhelm felt his confidence slowly return. This would be a lot easier if the Doctor was in a good mood. Then again, Wilhelm was afraid he might ruin her mood.

"Good day, Grace," he said, foregoing her usual title.

"Welcome back, Wilhelm," Grace replied, apparently not annoyed with his liberal use of her name. "How was your trip?"

"Oh, uh, interesting," Wilhelm replied cautiously. "Though the letters certainly kept me company."

Wilhelm had no idea why those words came out of his mouth, but out they were. Grace favored him with an amused look, but then again, the Doctor had been giving him more and more of those over the past few months.

"I assume you've got a grip on yourself?"

Wilhelm nodded stiffly. Now he really didn't know what to say. Grace might have just been trying to distract him from his own grief, or perhaps she was trying to distract herself. But no, this wasn't about it. The Doctor wasn't as composed as he was used to seeing her. She was rubbing her hands but stopped when she saw him notice. Something told Wilhelm the Doctor hadn't even noticed what she was doing. Wilhelm smiled again, more gently.

"So how have you been?"

Grace let out a sigh and threw her arms up. "Hormones. I'm having trouble sitting still, I'm moody, and I can't seem to get any work done."

"Maybe your body is trying to get you to rest," Wilhelm offered. "After all, they say doctors make the worst patients."

Grace's stare was enough to make Wilhelm think he'd said something wrong. The Doctor sighed and sat back.

"What's Gerald been saying this time?"

"This time?"

"I know you've been keeping in touch with him," said Grace, "and I know he thinks you can convince me to rest and behave."

"Is that so?" Wilhelm said as he pulled up a chair and sat with the back facing her. "And what makes Gerald think I could give a doctor orders?"

"You tell me."

Wilhelm wasn't sure whether the Doctor was in another of her mood swings, but now she almost sounded giddy. "Well, the only way I could get you to do something for me is if I have something you want."

An eyebrow rose. "And what could you possibly have that I would want?"

The tone wasn't condescending, but it reminded Wilhelm that he was making a few assumptions by approaching her. For that matter, was he now approaching the Doctor because he felt she needed him, not because he himself wanted to be with her? Wilhelm squashed that thought. He knew the Doctor well enough to know that wasn't like her. The others wouldn't have pushed him to do this for that reason either. And yet. An idea surfaced and Wilhelm's lips curled into another smile.

"A sense of security. A constant to navigate by. Someone you know will still be here, and someone who sees the same in you."

Grace was speechless. In fact, her mouth had dropped open at Wilhelm's audacity. Wilhelm himself kept still as he waited anxiously for Grace to respond in some way, if only so he could breathe again. When her mouth closed, he took it as a sign to resume circulating air with his lungs. Grace's face remained stoic and hard to read, though she didn't look displeased. She placed her chin in the palm of her hands and leaned forward to stare him in the eyes.

"You're very good at that, you know," she said. "Charming other people. I think that's why you gained our trust so quickly. And that's also probably how you won over Rachel. Still, you've been able to back up your words, which is why we keep trusting you. Still, I sometimes wonder if you make it a habit of promising things you know people want."

Wilhelm had steeled himself for both a positive and negative reaction, so his mind didn't freeze. The Doctor had made a major concession with her last sentence and Wilhelm felt relief flood him. Yet her pause still kept him on edge.

"Maybe it's because I can keep my promises that I make them," Wilhelm said, deciding to take the initiative. "And maybe it's because I believe it's something both sides want."

The eyebrow rose once more. "Both sides?"

"The giver of promises and the receiver."

A mischievous smile crossed Grace's face. "So what makes you think I want to be promised those things by you?"

"Because I want to be promised those things by you."

"And if I can't keep that promise? If I can't stay with you, be your lighthouse?"

Wilhelm gave her a wiry look. "I've learned some very important things while living with all of you. I've learned to accept help from others and I've learned to help others, but I've also learned not to expect anything back when I give something out. So whether you can fulfill the promise has no bearing on whether I fulfill _my_ promise."

If anything was going to kill Wilhelm, it would be suspense. Grace was silent once more and simply looked at him. While he wasn't about to try asphyxiation as an escape, Wilhelm desperately wanted Grace to say something. Even if she rejected him, at least he would have an answer. Beyond that, he had no right to ask anything else from her.

"Rachel always did like your initiative," said Grace. "And truth be told, I always thought it made you quite charming. My sister was a good judge of character and of all the men that courted her, you were the only one successful."

"Then I'm flattered," Wilhelm said, "and honored. I only hope I lived up to her expectations."

"Modest as always," said Grace. "Well, I can see the appeal of having that in a man. Still, I'm not quite ready to choose between my work and my life."

"You live by working. What is there to choose?"

Grace clasped her hands together and sighed. "You are an infuriatingly persistent man, Wilhelm. My music instructor once told me that if I ever wanted to feel what love is like, I should just get angry and frustrated. You're doing a good job of frustrating me."

Wilhelm grinned. "Why thank you. As you said, I seem to have a talent for it."

"Don't make me strangle you," Grace said jokingly. "But fine. Say you've won me over. What would you do next?"

"I've decided to rest from being a soldier," said Wilhelm. "I want to live a life that doesn't involve dodging bullets. I want to protect people without having to point a gun. You do that everyday. Allow me to join you."

"And if I say no?" Grace asked without pausing.

"Even if you did, that won't change how I want to live my life," Wilhelm said just as confidently. "But I want to live my life with someone, and I think Rachel would crucify me if I spent the rest of my life moping."

"That she would," Grace said. "All right, Wilhelm. You've convinced me you're not looking for a replacement of any sort. Still, that doesn't necessarily mean it'll work out. You've lived the life of a soldier. Do you think you could settle down and become a family man instead?"

"I want to become a family man," Wilhelm said so fervently that he tipped the chair slightly forward. "I want to raise children and I want to live a quiet life. I joined GDI because I wanted others to have the opportunity to live that life."

Grace couldn't help but chuckle. "Charming indeed. Well Wilhelm, I think you will be a good father. But can you be a good husband? No, don't answer that. I don't need you sweeping me off my feet with any more of your charismatic answers. But I think there'll be plenty of time for you to show me."

"I hope so," said Wilhelm. "And I hope to begin as soon as possible."

"Later," Grace said. "You'll have plenty of opportunity, I assure you, but later. While your enthusiasm is laudable, you just got home. I don't want you overexerting yourself. Remember, I am still a doctor."

"Then, as per the doctor's orders, I'll go get some rest," said Wilhelm, "and also give you some time to think."

Grace let out a low growl. "Damn it Wilhelm, stop preempting me. You're making it hard to find flaws in your character. No, that is the flaw in you, you're too perfect!"

Flashing Grace one last boyish grin, Wilhelm made his retreat. All in all, he felt like he'd won. Hopefully Grace wouldn't change her mind between now and whenever he got the chance to be with her alone again. Once outside, his fellow mutants caught sight of him and came up to offer their own congratulations. He shook hands, accepted hugs and kisses, and picked up a few kids to give piggyback rides. All in all, the homecoming was turning out to be great. When finally things settled down, Wilhelm made his way over to the communications center. He'd promised Grace he would rest, but too much was happening for him to rest. At least this job didn't require physical exertion on his part. Mental maybe, but his body could at least loaf around. It took a few moments for the connection to patch in but soon he was staring at one of the Forgotten weapons engineers.

"Daniel, how goes it."

"This project is turning out to be a major pain in the ass," Daniel replied promptly. "The railgun integration was bad enough, but this plasma weaponry is next to impossible."

"And what makes it impossible?" Wilhelm asked patiently.

"The technology is unlike anything we've seen before. We had almost a year to study the railgun designs before we started making them, but I think we'll need at least five before we fully understand this technology. Wherever the Brotherhood got it, it's exotic as hell."

"Alright, so forget about the plasma cannon for now," said Wilhelm. "What about the new Wolverines?"

"Coming along nicely," Daniel assured him. "I think we'll be ready to field test in a week or so. They're somewhat larger than the regular Wolverines, but they'll do the job. But, Wilhelm, I have a concern."

"Yes?"

"The walker technology behind these Wolverines isn't exactly what I would call rugged. They need a lot of maintenance and if they break down in the field, we're gonna have a field day getting them back up. Should we really be investing so much in this stuff?"

"Do you have an alternative suggestion?" Wilhelm asked.

"Well if your intention is to supply enough power to fire faster and also provide some protection for whoever is using the gun, I think maybe a low profile hummer or jeep might do the trick."

"You know, the walker technology does offer some advantages on traversing terrain," Wilhelm reminded Daniel.

"True enough," Daniel admitted. "Still, we've been using various wheeled vehicles far longer and we've made quite a few adaptations. I think a wheeled vehicle might be cheaper and more flexible in the long run."

"I'll defer to your good judgment," Wilhelm said with a grin. "Still, keep a few of the prototypes around. At the very least, they'll be useful for a last ditch defense."

"May it never come to that," Daniel said as he signed off.

Leaning back, Wilhelm sighed. R&D at GDI could not possibly have been this haphazard. Still, they were making progress, and that was all he could ask of the team. Wilhelm's musings were quickly cut off as suddenly another mutant suddenly jumped up with a shout. He and every other mutant inside spun around and waited for an explanation. It wasn't long in coming.

"Kane's dead!"

A full two seconds passed before the entire room was celebrating. Wilhelm joined in even though a part of him kept reminding him Kane had 'died' once before. Still, the news was too good to spoil. As the news spread, more and more people gathered outside to hear the details. The original reporter continued listening and relayed the story as it came to him. Apparently McNeil, the GDI field commander, had succeeded in destroying the Cairo base even though he had been heavily outnumbered. Wilhelm couldn't help but smile. General Langley had offered a bet that McNeil would win, but he hadn't taken the General up on it. Knowing McNeil's reputation, Wilhelm was playing it safe. Then came more news. Oxanna, one of the most respected mutant commanders, had also been freed. The day was getting better and better. A sense of pride could be felt in the room. Though they had not taken part in the battle, the Forgotten knew this victory wouldn't have been possible without them. And with the news came even more reason to hold a celebration.

When evening came, the entire settlement was alight. Tables stretched across the open areas and a massive buffet was proudly displayed by the many chefs. This time around, Elijah was in the hotseat as Gerald had declined to act as host and Wilhelm excused himself claiming ignorance of such duties. Then again, Wilhelm wouldn't have traded seats with anyone here. On his right was Grace, and the Doctor looked far more relaxed than he'd seen her in ages. Underneath the table his hand held tightly onto hers, as if he was trying to keep her from running away. But it had been Grace who first took his hand when they prepared to come to the celebrations. That by itself reassured him that Grace did see something in him. Yet Wilhelm knew that all men had this singular view when it came to finding a partner. Once they found one, they did not ever want to let go. Still, Wilhelm knew he needed to give the Doctor some breathing space. No need to smother her in attention.

Despite numbering in the thousands, everyone was seated and given an opportunity to serve themselves. Wilhelm knew good planning when he saw it, and despite the impression of chaos, everything was running smoothly. Whoever had organized the party had thought out the layout thoroughly. Speakers had even been put up so that announcements could be heard by all, including which table was allowed to go get food. When their turn came, the couple walked over together. Something about being in physical contact with Grace made Wilhelm feel pleasant. He reluctantly let go of her hand in order to begin filling a plate. Eating also required the use of two hands, but Wilhelm stayed as close to Grace as possible. He had already lost one woman in his life. This time, he intended to stay with Grace through thick and thin.

Feedback sounded over the speakers and most everyone cringed at it. Still, it did serve to let them know an announcement was coming.

"Sorry," Elijah apologized over the speakers, only to have them belch out more squeaks. "Damnation, behave, you!"

Laughter erupted and subsided just as quickly as they politely waited for Elijah to continue.

"Now I know all of you were planning this big party for me when I got back," the mutant joked, "and I appreciate it and all, of course. But I think I speak for all of us when I say I'd much rather toast the rescue of a comrade from enemy hands than just merely the return of those you were expecting home."

Soft applause answered him and Elijah waited for it to end before he continued. "That said, I am more than happy to partake in whatever toast is offered, especially if it's served with real wine. However, in the spirit of the celebration, allow me to make a toast. Two, actually."

Elijah picked up his wineglass and swirled its contents. A rustle signaled that everyone else had followed his example.

"To absent friends, who are not here to share this moment with us. Whether far afield fighting for freedom or having been granted eternal rest from this struggle. Amen."

"Amen," came the response.

"Now, before we drink," Elijah said quickly, his tone far more flamboyant, "I need to embarrass a certain nobody."

"Oh no," Wilhelm muttered.

"This nobody, whom you all know, has had the gall to steal not one, but two of our finest ladies. Not only that, one of the ladies is one of our most treasured jewels, for I myself owe my life to her skills. Not only that, these two ladies are sisters!"

The laughter that erupted at Elijah's mock indignation was infectious. Even Grace joined in, though all Wilhelm could do was sigh and shake his head at his friend's antics.

"As such, I think this toast entirely appropriate," Elijah concluded. "Wilhelm, you lucky bastard, stop making our lives difficult. Cheers!"

Wilhelm gladly gulped down the glass of wine, half wishing he had enough alcohol to knock himself out. He didn't know whether his face was flushing from all the congratulations or from the sudden consumption of alcohol, but he felt it burning. After emptying another glass, he became fairly certain it wasn't the alcohol. The wine was having no effect on him and he could think far too clearly at the moment. Wilhelm resigned himself to waiting out the celebrations before exacting some sort of revenge on Elijah. The man deserved that much for putting him on the spot.

As the inhabitants slowly began drifting home, Wilhelm and Grace bumped into more well-wishers. Some commented on how radiant Grace looked while others jokingly warned Wilhelm to behave. Ms. Clair even extended an invitation for dinner sometime, looking far more pleased than when Wilhelm had accidentally walked into her house with dirty shoes. The couple of course accepted and Wilhelm considered when would be a good opportunity to take her up on the offer. But for now, he wanted to enjoy some time with her. Gerald had gone ahead and left the two to wander home alone, something which Wilhelm greatly appreciated.

Winter had long lost its grasp on northern France, though a chill still lingered as a reminder. Fortunately or unfortunately, they were not along the coast, so whatever effects the ocean might have were lost upon them. Wilhelm let Grace lead him on the roundabout path, enjoying the quiet and listening for their footsteps. They were now on the outskirts of the settlement and encountered few people. Those that they chanced upon appeared to have similar reasons for seeking privacy. Wilhelm grinned as they passed another couple. He'd taken walks like this with Rachel before and had seen many of the same faces. It was good to know these people didn't like their condition get in the way of living. When they were sufficiently alone to satisfy Grace, she pulled her hand away and stretched.

"I try to be an orderly person," she said. "Parties usually make me nervous. I'm always afraid something will go wrong."

"Uncertainty's half the fun in life," said Wilhelm. "If you knew what was going to happen next, what point would there be to do it?"

"In my profession, we try to limit risks," Grace replied. "They're too costly. But life as a whole? Perhaps it is the risks that make life worthwhile."

"And chance can bring about some incredible events," Wilhelm said softly before falling silent.

Grace merely took his hand again and pulled him down. They laid down and gazed up at the darkening sky. The last sunlight winked out as the moments passed as night embraced them. Soon a different kind of light was cast upon them and the sky sparkled like diamonds.

"You know," Wilhelm began, "I always knew Nod was responsible for putting me here. And I guess I've already paid them back for it. But until two months ago, I had no idea just how responsible they were."

Grace remained silent, letting Wilhelm finish. As he gazed into her eyes, Wilhelm almost stopped. He didn't want to spoil the moment, but decided she should know.

"I came here because I had been infected with Tiberium. And we found a site where Nod was enriching their munitions with Tiberium. I think I might have been hit by one of those. And yet, I managed to get through it. But how many people have suffered and died while I got lucky?"

"As you said, you've paid them back for it," Grace comforted him. "You cannot change the past, but then again, is there anything you would really want to change about it?"

"Well I, uh." Wilhelm settled into an uncomfortable silence as he mulled over the question. "You know what? No. There isn't anything I would want to change. Life is too short to regret our actions, and for that matter, everything that happens to use in life should be something we treasure."

"Even the pain and suffering?"

"If we didn't know how to suffer, then we wouldn't know how to treasure happiness."

"And do you say that because you've managed to find happiness?"

"I say it because it's the truth, regardless of whether you've never tasted happiness or suffering."

"Some people won't accept that," said Grace. "They believe that they do not deserve to suffer."

"Let them think whatever they want," said Wilhelm. "The world will sort them out. I have no intention of worrying about them as I intend to live my life, not theirs."

Grace rolled over onto her side and to Wilhelm's surprise kissed him on the cheek. "Well said. But I think it's time we got home. I have no intention of sleeping out here at night, especially with the child."

Wilhelm grinned and placed a hand over the womb. "I expect your baby to be as beautiful as you."

"You can stop appealing to my vanity," Grace said with a grin. "And you can also stop appealing to my maternal side. Just be there for the both of us and that's all I'll ask from you."

"The devil himself won't be able to keep me away," Wilhelm assured her.

The two stood and headed back to their home. Gerald continued reading his newspaper and said nothing as they entered, something for which Wilhelm was eternally grateful for. The man had become something of a surrogate father, and the smile on his face was all the reassurance Wilhelm needed. And when they disappeared into Grace's room, Wilhelm swore he heard a chuckle. However, the door was closed behind them before he could look. Nothing happened that night, and Wilhelm felt that nothing would for quite a few nights. Grace had accepted him, but this was a mere beginning. Simply having her in his arms as he slept would be pleasure enough for now.

Wilhelm's routine didn't undergo any dramatic change as the week went on. He continued training the Forgotten soldiers as well as offer suggestions and feedback to the weapons designers. Combined with the usual errands he ran for Grace, life was quite busy. Perhaps the most noticeable difference was the kisses they exchanged when he dropped in to help her. Wilhelm grinned as he recalled last night. Grace had been pulling another late shift at the clinic and he'd decided to bring her dinner. For twenty minutes Grace had shown just how appreciative she was of his consideration, though she was adamant about finishing her work. Thus Wilhelm spent the night alone, though he did find Grace using him as a pillow when he awoke in the morning. Even now she was sleeping, recovering from the previous night. Then again, Wilhelm knew odd hours were common for everyone.

When the GDI convoy rolled into camp, Wilhelm was doing his usual job of greeting him when the lieutenant in command of the trucks came up and saluted.

"Sir, am I correct in assuming you are Field Commander Wilhelm Feydrich, sir?"

Wilhelm nodded and returned the salute. "Don't know about the Field Commander part, but I'm Wilhelm Feydrich."

The lieutenant blinked but to his credit that wasn't all he did. "Sir, these letters came to you. My understanding is that we are to rely them to you and pick up any you may wish to send."

Wilhelm took the envelopes and nodded. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I don't have anything this time around, but thanks."

"No problem sir," the man said before saluting once more.

Wilhelm returned it but he felt somewhat odd. A year ago, he was the one saluting officers, not the other way around. On the other hand, he was perfectly comfortable in directing the GDI soldiers in offloading the various supplies. When they reached the medical supplies, Wilhelm called Grace and had her examine them. He refrained from showing any blatant sighs of affection, but her smile was enough. After the GDI trucks were rolling out, Wilhelm went back to the house and into his old room turned office.

He'd known that telling his sister and parents not to worry was an exercise in futility. He was sure Karen would write, but surprise crossed his face at the sight of the return address. The name at top was his father's. The second envelope was from his sister and the third from his mother. Apparently all three had felt the need to write him. Pulling out a knife, Wilhelm sliced open Karen's first. Knowing her, she'd be giving him some advice on how to handle his father's letter.

_Dear Wilhelm_

_When your letter came, I was so sure there had been some mistake. Then when I looked at the date and called GDI, they pulled up your record and confirmed that you were off the MIA list. Of all the late Christmas gifts I could have asked for, this was one I never dared hope to receive. Thank God you're alive, Wilhelm, we missed you so much. Mom couldn't stop crying when she heard you'd been found and Dad looks like he's been reborn. He's promised to write to you and I hope you'll respond. Dad took your missing the hardest and I don't think he's forgiven himself for the way he treated you when you told us you were joining. But enough about us._

_Wilhelm, what's been happening to you? You didn't really say anything about where you've been for the past year. I can understand you having to follow procedure and not reveal too much about what you're doing, but can't you give us any hint? Were you under assignment the entire time or something? And when can you come home? We all miss you terribly. And what's more, I want you to be here when little Willy has his first birthday. That's right, Adelric and I are now parents, and you have a nephew. I hope you don't mind us naming him after you. Wilhelm, I want you to be here, as part of the family. I want you to meet your nephew, and I want you to be his uncle. So please, come visit us soon._

_Love, Karen_

The last few sentences surprised Wilhelm. He'd know his sister was trying to conceive, but at the time of his injury, she was still without child. It was good news indeed that she and her husband had succeeded and quite flattering to have them name their son after him, though Wilhelm knew it was likely another attempt to bring closure to their lives. However, their appeals for his return were ill advised. His return would disrupt their lives far more than they could imagine. Still, they deserved to at least know why he couldn't come home. Setting aside his sister's letter, Wilhelm sliced open the envelope from his mother. She had always tried to be the peacemaker between her husband and her children, though not always successfully. Wilhelm knew she would have taken news of his missing badly, but at least she had moved on. Had he opened up those wounds with his letter home?

_To My Dear Wilhelm_

_I write this praying you are in good health. The news that you'd been found once more was the best news I could have asked for. I missed you so much, and I still miss you. But knowing that you are well is enough to give me hope and strength. The time that you were gone forced us to face our worst fears and admit our mistakes. I'm sorry I couldn't stop your father from casting you out and I hope you can forgive me for this failure as a mother. Wilhelm, please come home. Finding out you're alive was a miracle but I want to be able to touch that miracle. I know I'm being selfish, as many people never find their love ones again and you've been found. Perhaps I need to assure my maternal side in knowing you are really safe._

_Your father also wants to see you. When he heard the news, he started weeping for joy. He still won't say it, but he needs your forgiveness for how rash he acted before. No matter what, you are still his son and he thinks the world of you. So please come and visit us, your family. Even if it's for a short time, we would appreciate it greatly._

_Your loving mother, Hanne_

Count on his mother to apologize for his father. Wilhelm rubbed his eyes and considered whether he wanted to tackle his father's letter today. The next convoy wouldn't be here for a week so he had plenty of time to write a response. Wilhelm shook his head and dismissed that thought. Making excuses like that would only result in him not writing that letter. He picked up the letter from his father reluctantly and slit it open. The first line raised an eyebrow but he went on.

_To My Beloved and Only Son_

_I know the last time we saw each other we parted on bad terms. I spoke rashly and harshly, but I did so out of my love for you. You are my flesh and blood and I would have done anything to keep you from harm. Should have done anything. I demanded that you obey me for I was your father, but I also forgot that it was my responsibility to support you. But now I must ask something of you. I ask that you return to me. Perhaps I remain selfish, but I wish to see you, my son, once more. Whatever mission you are now on, I cannot imagine can be so dire that you cannot spare some time to unite with your family once more._

_Your Father, Fastred_

That was as close to an apology Wilhelm knew he was going to get from his father. If nothing else, his old man remained firm in his beliefs and it was through his beliefs that he would judge himself. Wilhelm set the letter down and sat back. He could easily address most of their questions with a single letter, though that might be inappropriate all things considered. Still, that didn't eliminate the one major question, whether he should tell them of his condition. If they decided to scorn him for being a mutant, he found that it wouldn't really bother him. After all, he had his own family to look after and people who would look out for him. In many ways, having his family cut ties with him would simplify so many things. Yet that was taking the easy way out. If he had wanted to do that, he could have just avoided replying to that last letter.

A single knock announced Grace as she entered his office. In all things, Grace rarely asked his permission for anything. She simply did what she wanted to and dared him to protest.

"Hey," Wilhelm greeted.

Grace responded with a smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why are you buried in here?"

Picking up his sister's letter, Wilhelm handed it to her. "My family. They found out I was alive and have started writing to me again. GDI's delivering them with the supply convoys."

That was all the explanation Grace needed from him as she skimmed the letter. "Are you going to tell them you're one of us now?"

Wilhelm grinned warily. Just like Grace to pick out the fact his family didn't know he was a mutant.

"Probably. They might as well get an answer as to why I probably won't be able to see them."

Grace snorted. "I hope you're not referring to that stupid myth about us giving off Tiberium radiation."

"A myth it maybe be," said Wilhelm, "but that doesn't mean we can trust the people they're living with to be so enlightened. For that matter, I wouldn't even expect it of my family."

Grace looked down at him. "Now isn't that a rude thing to say? Especially about your family? Where's your faith?"

"Ground to dust by my father," Wilhelm said nonchalantly. "Well, we'll see. I still have a week to think of what to say."

Just as Wilhelm began to rise, Grace pressed him down. "No, you're going to think of what to say now, or else I'm not letting you leave this room."

Looking at her in surprise, Wilhelm could only grunt. Grace pulled out a sheet of paper and pencil and turned him to face them. Wilhelm picked up the pencil but could only stare at the sheet for several minutes. Eventually he began scribbling and the words came pouring out. Once done, Wilhelm looked up at Grace. The Doctor took the pencil from him and began crossing things out. When she was done, she handed it back to him.

"Rewrite those," she ordered.

Sighing, Wilhelm obeyed. After several more rewrites, the Doctor finally nodded approvingly.

"You know, I'm going to be visiting Tratos in a month or so," she said. "You could come with me and then swing up north to meet your family while I'm working and pick me up on the way home."

"Really? What're going to visit Tratos for?"

Grace looked at him and Wilhelm bit his lip. "Right, right. The project."

"Tell your family that if they really want to see you, you could arrange something in a month's time. And even if they don't want to, you can still come with me and meet Tratos. He really is a remarkable man and a great scientist."

"All right," said Wilhelm. "I'll do that."

The amendment took about ten seconds to put down and thankfully Grace deigned it good enough. With that task out of the way, Wilhelm stood and followed Grace out. She had obviously come searching for him for a reason and they might as well get to it. The door clicked shut behind them with the letter laid out on Wilhelm's desk.

_To My Family_

_Much has happened since my going missing and I've debated how much I should tell you. I've been fighting most of the time, doing my duty and protecting those that need it. But I'm doing it in a different way now. I suffered a Tiberium infection about a year ago while in the field and joined the Forgotten soon after. While living with them, I've begun to build a new life. Here, we life side by side with those we try to protect. Here, we work together to survive each coming day. And here more of us die every day because we have been ignored for so long. But this shared suffering makes us a people and they have welcomed me with open arms. They stood by me as my pain grew and healed me when it became unbearable. And in living as a mutant, I've also gained a family. I've loved and been loved, I love and am still loved. These are things I would not trade for anything else in the world, for this is my life. Whether you can live with knowing that a member of your family is a mutant, a Shiner, is up to you._

_I'll likely be swinging by Kiel in a month or so from the date at the top, so if you do want to see me, let me know. I'll have to make a few arrangements._

_Wilhelm_

End of Chapter 13

The stuff with Grace, I don't know. I had a lot of trouble writing it and I'm not entirely sure I executed it properly. Don't know if I moved too quickly considering how subtle the hints and buildup has been over the last few chapters.

I've offered various glimpses into the lives of the Forgotten, but we'll be seeing more and more of that the next chapter. And I'm also playing around with the timeline here. In my estimation, the fighting we saw in TS had to have taken at least four to five months. Providing McNeil was moving constantly, there's still no way everything was done in the two months that the game manuals seem to hint at. The logistics of globe hopping like that, even with GDI's technology, would be pushing things.

As far as my comments on the novel goes, that's just my opinion on the matter. The entire thing felt like a rush job to me and whatever limitations EA put the author on, well, the entire thing didn't work out very well. I don't know this author so I don't know how much, if any of the blame falls on him, but I'm not too impressed with the writing. Maybe I'm too much of a military snob but whatever. It's for you guys to decide how you feel about the novel, not for me to dictate your opinions.

Z98


	14. Chapter 14

My biggest grip about Nod in C&C3 is that they seem really, really wasteful. Their actions and the way they commit their resources is really, really wasteful. At least in Tiberian Sun and Firestorm, Slavik understood when to kill and when to let live. He also knew the importance of keeping his own troops alive. That's quite a contrast with the Nod in C&C3. After EA took over the writing, it just seems they took the cheap way out in portraying Nod.

I've been doing a bit of research in regards to locations for another project of mine. You'll read more about it at the end notes You all remember Southern Cross? If Westwood placed SC where I think they did, it's in western Australia. Or eastern Australia. Basically, it'd be somewhere in Australia.

Chapter 14: Unofficial Relations

"And with Tratos helping us in our Tiberium research, we just might stand a chance," General Langley said.

Wilhelm nodded. "Though that raises an obvious question, sir. If GDI were somehow able to eliminate Tiberium, where does that leave us?"

"The hope is that we can reverse your mutations," said Langley. "Though I can understand your concern. But even if we can't, Tiberium does have its uses and will likely remain part of this planet. But that's on the optimistic side. From where we stand, you mutants might survive in on a Tiberian Earth. We unmutated humans would die if exposed to just the atmosphere."

Wilhelm nodded. "I assume you made this call because of that?"

"Something like that. Certain regions of the planet are beginning to become completely inhospitable to carbon based life. Our standard infantry would begin suffering Tiberium poisoning within a matter of minutes and we need to make use of heavy mechs in order to do anything there. Unfortunately, certain jobs require a bit more finesse and subtlety."

"And since we can survive in such environments, we'd be ideal for such missions," Wilhelm finished.

"Quite. Which is why you currently hold the position of Field Commander."

"Excuse me sir, but that's a jump of, umm, I'm actually not sure how many ranks that would jump me."

Langley chuckled. "The Field Commander title is fortunately a very flexible one, unlike some of the other Commander positions. Normally, Field Commander are Colonels, but in theory anyone down to a 2nd Lieutenant can be one. Considering your combat record, you certainly have enough seniority to be a Master Sergeant. However, your duties amongst the Forgotten place you at the Captain or Major level. As such, your actual position will be a simulated rank very much like when you assisted my forces. You'll be high enough to command anyone who's sent out to support you, short of a General. Now in the cases where we do send a Colonel out, it will mean we want that Colonel to be in command of the mission. In that case, you'd be second in command. However, as the mutants will most likely not respond to any order you disagree with, you have quite a bit of flexibility."

"That seems rather generous of you, General."

Langley shrugged onscreen. "Just admitting the reality of the situation. I just hope you'll cooperate when we do send out a Colonel. That means we consider the mission to be extremely sensitive and we can't reveal any details to you. That we need you to have some faith in our judgment."

Wilhelm grimaced. "We'll see, General. Hopefully GDI will give us more reason to trust them. Incidentally, how does my authority extend on base?"

"While you do not have command authority per se on one of our bases, you are granted the privileges that come with being an officer. Of course, I hope you'll let your discretion guide you."

"Of course," Wilhelm said. "And I also assume my access to GDI's data network will be similarly limited?"

Langley cracked a grin. "Your intuition is as keen as ever. And you're right. As you are for all practical purposes not under GDI jurisdiction, I do have to adhere to security procedures."

"Understandable, sir."

"Anyways, mind passing along the message to any other mutant commanders? You're the only know I know I can trust to follow GDI procedures on missions, at least where the GDI forces are concerned, but I'd be willing to establish, understandings, with other mutant commanders. And you seem to have earned their respect."

"I'll do so, General."

"Then I bid you good day, Commander Feydrich."

The screen blinked out and Wilhelm stretched. He'd been through several sessions with General Langley in the comm center, discussing how the Forgotten and GDI could cooperate on missions. The independent streak mutants had made joint operations a bit touchy. The ones Wilhelm had conducted under GDI command were only nominally so. The Forgotten soldiers were operating on their own initiative and only obeyed McNeil's orders because Umagon was there to check him if he overstepped. That and some were hungry for revenge.

However, with this business taken care of, Wilhelm could focus on lighter matters, specifically the upcoming Easter celebration. The thought of the preparations made it hard to suppress a chuckle. Wilhelm left the comm center and headed to the community center. In reality several module living quarters linked together, indoor events were held here. The main cafeteria was located here and made the place a social center when there were no events. Wilhelm had never attended any such events but he'd spent time there with his troops.

As he entered, Wilhelm was greeted by Gerald. "Ah, good timing, Wilhelm. I was about to come looking for you."

"What do you need?"

"We need some help with the rabbit suit, and as it's a surprise, only a few people can see it. You stumbled upon it because Grace and I were careless, but you're discreet."

"What could I possibly help you with?" asked Wilhelm as Gerald pushed him towards a side room.

"You'll see, my boy."

When they entered, Wilhelm looked around suspiciously. "Where's Elijah?"

"Unfortunately," Elijah said as he clapped Wilhelm from behind, "I cannot fit in the rabbit costume this year. But fear not, for Easter is saved! The good Doctor here knows your measurements and realized you would fit."

Wilhelm's face went white even as he saw Grace give him an uncharacteristically large grin. However, there was no escape as Elijah had him firmly by the shoulders. Wilhelm was dragged over to the bright blue suit and he shivered in horror.

"You did everything possible to make this thing look cute, didn't you?" Wilhelm said accusingly.

"Sorry," Maria said softly, "but it is for the kids, you know?"

Wilhelm blinked and stood there for a few seconds, looking at the young woman. She blushed at the attention and looked away and Wilhelm let out another sigh. They really had this thought out. If he refused, Grace would likely give him the silent treatment for at least a month, Elijah would have an excuse to call him a coward, and everyone here could tease him about treating Maria badly. That for some reason scared him even more than Grace ignoring him.

"Just so all of you know, I will get you back for this," Wilhelm said.

"Sure you will," Elijah replied cheerfully. "Now get your ass into that suit so we can make any adjustments!"

The entire getup looked absolutely ridiculous. It'd been made to look cute and harmless and overachieved those objectives. Even worse, with the head on, Wilhelm could only see in front. That meant he was likely to be the subject of god knows how many pranks. The kids wouldn't mind and would be too busy searching for eggs, it was his own troops that he needed to worry about. And once they found out he was the one wearing the suit, it would only get worse.

Mercifully, the room was air conditioned so being in the suit wasn't unbearable. They had him raise and lower his arms, checking for any tears or strains. Next came walking and jumping. Wilhelm felt ridiculous and was sure he looked it too. Elijah had smartly kept out of his view, which made Wilhelm sure he was the source of snickering he kept hearing. Somehow, Grace and Maria kept a straight face as they considered alternations to the suit. However, there was no air conditioning outside.

"Is there any way we can rig some kind of air ventilation inside this thing?" Wilhelm asked. "I'll collapse from heat stroke if I have to walk around all day in it."

"Hmm, how did we solve that problem last year?" Grace said thoughtfully. "I recall Elijah was basically jumping around without any problems."

"We had a late melting that year," Elijah said behind Wilhelm. "It was still fairly cool when Easter arrived."

"So what did you do the years it was warm?" Maria asked.

Elijah shrugged. "Sweat it out. But then again, Wilhelm isn't as tough as me so of course he'll whine for ventilation."

"Don't start," Wilhelm retorted, "unless you want me to tell everyone that time we were hiding in the snow."

Though there was no audible response, Wilhelm was fairly sure Elijah's face was turning all shades of red judging from the amused looks Grace and Maria gave him.

"Anyways," Wilhelm went on, "anyone have any ideas? We're supposed to be really ingenious so let's apply our creativity to someone important, like keeping me comfortable."

"Well, how do we add something like that without destroying the look of the costume?" Grace mused. "After all, your comfort is secondary to the enjoyment of the children."

"My comfort is secondary to a lot of things," Wilhelm said.

"Stop whining," said Grace, "and stand up so we can see how to make it work."

"Yes ma'am."

Wilhelm's response elicited a long look from Grace and even caused Maria to giggle. Eventually Gerald tapped his daughter on the shoulder and they went back to work. After half an hour, a basic design for ventilation had been hashed out. Grace calmly informed Wilhelm that he would need to fabricate it himself if he wanted to use it for the costume. With a week to go, he'd have to work fast, especially if he was to scrounge up the parts.

"All right, I think we're done. You can get out of that suit now."

The words were barely out of Grace's mouth before Wilhelm was halfway free. However, he wasn't quite done yet.

"Next you need to memorize all the spots we'll be hiding eggs. Maria has the spots picked out."

"And I've made sure Isabel hasn't managed to peek at it," she said proudly.

"Considering how ingenious your sister has gotten, no mean feat," Wilhelm complimented her. "Now can I please get out of this suit!?"

"Sure, go ahead," Grace said with the wave of her hand.

"_Thank_ you."

Everyone else had a good laugh but Grace remained focused. She did favor him with a look but that was it. Not even the grin Wilhelm cracked moved her. Maybe that was why he kept trying to impress her, because she seemed so damn hard to impress. Yet he didn't need to impress her anymore. He just needed to be there for her and everything would be fine. Shucking the suit, he set it aside carefully and made his leave. He was tempted to give Grace a goodbye kiss but restrained himself. The Doctor was a very restrained person, which made her also quite tender. It was quite a contrast with Rachel, who had been more out-going. Yet the reserved way she displayed her affections were just as warm and loving.

Wilhelm wondered how long it would be before everyone found out he was the rabbit for the year. The kids would be hounding him for where the eggs would be hidden, which wasn't too hard to deal with, as he had no idea anyways. However, he'd heard plenty of stories about the pranks the troops pulled on Elijah and he had no intention of falling prey to any of those.

While he had some free time, Wilhelm proceeded to securing the parts for a ventilation system. His first stop was the local gadget shop. Well, not shop. In their daily lives, the mutants ran across old and abandoned systems. A lot of it didn't work but could be stripped for usable components. Thus they all ended up at the gadget shop, operated by several younger mutants who had nothing better to do than tinker and really didn't have the attention span for anything else. Every community seemed to have them and this settlement was no different. Still, those teens had put their talents to use in many rather ingenious projects. Wilhelm smiled to himself. Here he was, thinking of them as if they were kids, while he himself was but a few years into his own adulthood.

The workshop was surprisingly quiet when Wilhelm walked in. No blaring music, no torches or saws going at it. Maybe the complaints from the few neighbors had finally succeeded. That seemed doubtful and Wilhelm shrugged. So long as he could get the parts, he'd be fine.

"Mikel!"

There was a shuffle in the back and a young man stumbled out, pulling his clothes together as he went. His face was also flushed, which could have been the result of any number of legitimate activities. Wilhelm snorted. Yeah, and if he believed that, he'd likely believe mutants gave off radiation.

"Busy?" he asked with a grin.

"Uh," Mikel said even as the red deepened on his face, "not really, just getting some rest."

"Right. Anyways, I need to build some kind of air conditioning unit that'll fit in a backpack to keep me comfortable."

Mikel blinked. "A backpack air conditioner? Why?"

Wilhelm tapped Mikel on the forehead. "You don't need to know why, just that I need the parts to make it. Well?"

"Umm, you've got to be kidding. I mean, no matter what, it's gonna be insanely heavy."

Wilhelm shook his head. "I don't need it to cool the air, I just need it to circulate air. Some of those computer fans you have would work."

For a few seconds Mikel continued to stare at him. It was as if the teen standing before him couldn't grasp Wilhelm's intentions. Well, that was fine.

"If you're just going to stand there gawking, I'll go back and find the parts myself," Wilhelm said.

"Whoa, hold on," Mikel protested, snapping out of his daze. "Just tell me what you need and I'll get it."

"Why? Could it be you're hiding something, or someone back there?" Wilhelm teased.

Mikel's reluctance in responding was all the confirmation Wilhelm needed.

"Here, let's make a deal," said Wilhelm. "You help me put together the backpack cooler quietly, and I'll keep my mouth shut about what I would likely see if I went back there."

A sharp nod signified Mikel's new status as co-conspirator, though Wilhelm did wonder what the teen was so worried about. Though mutants, these people did have a French heritage. Then again, there was what Grace had said about how relationships here worked. Either way, Mikel hurried Wilhelm along as they picked out he necessary components, always keeping him out the back. It took barely fifteen minutes and after Mikel promised to have a prototype ready by tomorrow, Wilhelm made his exit. He was tempted to linger and see just who Mikel was hiding, but decided it wasn't worth it. Let the boy have his privacy.

The rest of the day passed quickly and without incident, though Wilhelm swore his troops were laughing behind his back during practice. As payback, he upped the bonus requirements for passing the target practice round. The Forgotten didn't have 'money' in the same sense as GDI. Their sense of 'ownership' was quite strong, but most everything was done through a straightforward system of pooled resources. Anyone who wanted food, clothes, and the other necessities of life could get it from the community center. The people who farmed or tailored or produced any other vital good let the community center handle most of the distribution. Corruption was very quickly detected and usually resulted in rather severe punishments, so the system worked well. Any other goods were bartered and only rarely was hard currency used, simply because there wasn't that much of it on hand. That resulted in a shortage of luxury items like wine, though cheap alcohol was easy to come by.

Again French heritage exerted itself and wine became highly sought after. As a way to motivate his troops to do better, Wilhelm managed to procure several bottles of decent wine and awarded those who did well a glass after practice. This time around, no one achieved the time and score necessary to get a drink. As he watched the troops go change, Wilhelm wondered what the GDI supply officers thought whenever they shipped a crate of wine with the convoy to this settlement. Then again, he'd need to find another way to fund this. Even after getting a few months worth of pay dumped on him, he was starting to run out of cash.

When Grace got home, Wilhelm was busy sorting through more updates for the project. She sat down across from him, her serious face on.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Wilhelm preempted her.

"I think it's time we moved to a place of our own," Grace said calmly.

"Huh?"

It wasn't a complex proposal, but it did blank his mind for several seconds. Wilhelm blinked and simply waited for Grace to explain her reasoning.

"Do you intend to continue living here, under the same roof as my father?"

When she put it that way, Wilhelm blanched. Intellectually, he knew Gerald acted in that capacity for Grace, even if they had no biological relation. While Gerald was supportive of their relationship, it didn't remove the awkwardness their positions placed them in. Then a thought occurred to him.

"Did you think of this, or did Gerald suggest it?"

Grace gave him a look. "Why is it all the men in my life are so intuitive?"

"Because we're around you so much your intuition rubs off on us?" Wilhelm offered.

Grace snorted. "Yeah, right. Anyways, try to find a place close to the clinic. If there aren't any, we'll have to wait for one to open up."

With that, she stood and headed for the door.

"You're actually trusting me with finding a new place to live?" Wilhelm asked.

Glancing back, Grave gave him a wicked smile. "It'll be up to you to make sure my confidence isn't misplaced."

She was out the room before Wilhelm could come up with a response. While worded politely, Grace's statement was the equivalent of 'don't mess up or else.' Sighing, Wilhelm sat back and tried to recall what he was supposed to do. Requesting housing was fairly straightforward, though getting a place to live in a specific area could be tricky. Most of the structures here were hybrids of habitation modules and shacks. Proper floors helped them stay mostly clean, though everything here laced the shine Wilhelm had grown up around. All in all, the residences weren't too shabby.

The first thing he would need to do is see if any vacancies were available. If there wasn't, he had one of two options. Get on the waiting list or get a new module somehow and plop it up. Most people went with the former if only because getting a new module was considered something of a luxury, which required cash, which like everyone else Wilhelm was not made of. Maybe he could get the community leaders to use some of the discretionary budget, or requisition one from GDI as a field commander. Either way, he would only have to resort to those methods if there weren't any open spots left.

The walk to the main office wasn't long but still gave him enough time to figure out how to phrase his request. When the act was unfamiliar, simplicity didn't make it any less difficult the first time around. He walked up to the desk and breathed.

"I'd like to apply for a family housing unit," he said.

Since no one besides him was here to make requests, the other clerks all looked over at him. The man sitting before him had a massive grin on his face, something which felt disconcerting to Wilhelm.

"Close to the clinic, correct?" the man said and continued without waiting for an answer. "And aren't you lucky, we actually have one?"

Wilhelm blinked. "Really?"

The man nodded. "Want me to put you down for it?"

Catching himself, Wilhelm shook his head. "I'd prefer to look it over first."

A hearty laugh answered him. "Smart man. Miranda, go with him and show him where it is."

"Alright."

The young woman sitting at the desk left of Wilhelm stood and waved for him to follow. The house in question was a standard family unit on the opposite of the clinic from Gerald's place.

"It hasn't been occupied for a while," Miranda explained, "so the place will require some cleaning."

"Which I'll likely do," Wilhelm muttered.

Despite that, Miranda heard and gave him a smile. "But of course. Isn't it the husband's duty to look after his wife?"

The term husband and wife had little legal reinforcement here. It was more a culturally and socially established definition. Two people became husband and wife when they declared each other as such and began living together. There were no other formalities, though a party for close friends might be held to celebrate the union.

The two walked inside and Wilhelm coughed as the dust stirred. The place definitely needed some airing, but otherwise t was in good shape. Minimal furniture but desks and chairs were easy enough to get.

"Dos this house get power?" Wilhelm asked.

While a power grid did exist, its coverage was spotty and unreliable. One house might be powered while another right next to it was in the dark. The grid was slowly being upgraded but no one expected any miracles.

"I think so," Miranda said, thinking. "But even if it isn't, it's close enough to the client to hook up a line."

Wilhelm nodded. One way people got around the lack of coverage was share power between neighbors. Some of the wiring wasn't exactly safe, resulting in accidents from time to time, but people did it anyways. Another motivation for getting a proper grid installed. Wilhelm's personal motivation for the grid revolved around the havoc the makeshift connections wrecked on radio sgnals. The phone lines here were even worse than the power grid and wireless communications would have been a nice and elegant solution were it not fr the improperly shielded cables.

"Hmm, no kitchen unit," Wilhelm commented, "but that shouldn't be a problem."

"Neither of you cook?" Miranda inquired.

Wilhelm shook his head. "Gerald usually handled that. If he wasn't around, I'd go down to the community cafeteria. And if I was really desperate, I could always eat field rations."

The face Wilhelm made elicited a giggle from Miranda. "Well, it's not like this place started out without one. We just probably stripped it out for use elsewhere. But if you really needed one, we could probably find some spare stoves, microwaves, whatever you would have in a kitchen."

"I'll have to ask Grace," said Wilhelm. "I can't cook anything that'd require a stove."

Miranda nodded in understanding. "Besides that, any problems?"

"Umm, nope. This looks to be pretty good. Though I do wonder whether it was just coincidence there was an open house so close to the clinic."

Miranda grinned. "You could say we've all been waiting for you and Grace to decide to live elsewhere. The previous family actually left this house a while ago but no one else has moved around. When Elijah made his little, uh, announcement, we decided we'd keep it empty just in case."

"Why'd the last family move?"

For a moment Miranda faltered. "His wife had succumbed to her condition. He said it didn't feel right taking up so much space, when another couple could make better use of it."

"I see," Wilhelm said softly.

Touching the wall, Wilhelm wondered at the last couple to have lived here, the happiness they'd shared, and finally the sorrow of the parting. He and Grace would likely leave similar memories in this house. Wilhelm could only pray that the sorrow would take a long time arriving.

"We'll take it," Wilhelm finally said.

Miranda tilted her head. "Are you sure?"

Wilhelm nodded firmly. "Most definitely."

The smile returned to Miranda's face. "Then come back and sign your name to the roster."

Once the formality was concluded, Wilhelm went and brought Grace over to their new home. Her face remained blank as he showed her the place, but eventually softened and gave him a smile. With her approval, he could get to work getting the place ready for their residence. For a week, Wilhelm found his usual free time occupied with sweeping, dusting, mopping, and various other sorts of cleaning. There were a few incidents where he almost regretted choosing the house, but once the disgusting parts were dealt with, he generally felt it was worth the effort.

Furniture took a little doing. Gerald had had years to gather the furniture he now had. Fortunately, he was more than happy to share. The bed they'd used was moved over, as was Wilhelm's desk and some chairs. The dining table unfortunately was staying point, as Gerald reminded them that he still needed a place to eat. For now, the place still looked a bit bare but Wilhelm was already in the process of wheedling some more furniture out of the craftsmen. He intended to make this place a comfortable home for his family.

Throughout the hustle and bustle, Wilhelm was barely aware of the arrival of the GDI supply convoy. He kept his anxiety in check as much as possible and was almost relieved when no letters were handed to him. No, not relieved. Disappointed. Wilhelm sighed. He wasn't going to get anywhere lying to himself about wanting to see his family. Though he had a family here, he still wanted his birth family to acknowledge him. Grace picked up on his emotions the moment she saw him.

"You've still got another month," she said softly.

"I know."

Grace took hold of him and Wilhelm returned the embrace. Tears didn't quite come out, but it was close. While Grace's comfort had nearly elicited them, her presence also helped him remain strong enough to hold them back.

"Uh, thanks," Wilhelm said once they pulled back.

Grace smiled at him gently before going back to work. He could have asked her to stay with him longer and she would have acquiesced. Maybe he would ask her to be by his side later. For now, he would be fine. After all, tomorrow was Easter, and it certainly wouldn't do for the Easter Bunny to be grumpy and sad. With that thought in mind, Wilhelm went back to the workshop. This time the place was as loud and rambunctious as its inhabitants could make it. Mikel barely heard Wilhelm over the music but when he caught sight of him quickly ran over with the backpack.

"All ready," he proclaimed proudly.

Wilhelm looked over the contraption carefully. It wasn't too bulky and would still allow him to move around freely. The thing was also slim enough he didn't have to worry about hitting any kids when turning around, hopefully. Wilhelm switched it on and listened to the hum. As they were limited to whatever was on hand, the two had used remnants of various cushions to try and absorb as much of the sound as possible. The thing fortunately didn't rattle and it looked like it would work.

"Looks good," Wilhelm said. "Thanks."

"No problem."

A quick run to the community center and the backpack was hidden away with the rest of the costume. After giving the rabbit suit one last look, Wilhelm shuddered and went back to work. There was simply too much to do to feel sorry for oneself. Wilhelm would mope when he had time to rest, and he'd rest when he was dead.

The next day came far too quickly for Wilhelm's liking. Grace had to literally drag him out of bed and to the community center. Kids were already gathering around so they went in through the basement. Inside the people helping with the egg hunt were all waiting. Elijah had a huge grin plastered across his face, something which worried Wilhelm more than having to wear the rabbit suit. When he saw the backpack, he saw the reason for that grin.

"What the bloody hell!?"

"We couldn't very well have you running around with a black backpack, now could we? So we had to paint it."

"Couldn't you have painted the parts before it was put together?"

"Maybe, if we had known where you were getting the parts."

Wilhelm sighed. Sometimes secrecy worked against him. Maybe he should have hid the backpack at home instead of in here. Whoever painted this was at least good with color coordination. The rabbit suit was pure white with a light blue bow around its neck. The backpack had been spray painted a light blue, but the lightness allowed some creativity in decoration. A combination of pink and white streaks crisscrossed the backpack and Wilhelm could only hope the paint hadn't clogged any of the fans. When the thing whirled to life, he let out a sigh. At least some things were going right.

"Get dressed," Grace ordered.

Once in his underwear, Wilhelm put on the suit and strapped on the backpack. He flicked it on and immediately felt a breeze against his back.

"I look absolutely ridiculous," he pronounced.

"The kids won't think so, and only their opinion counts for how you look," Grace replied.

Count on Grace to remind him of reality. Wilhelm stretched a bit before following her out of the room. He was promptly handed a basket full of candy and pushed towards the door.

"Remember the procedure," said Grace. "Every time a kid finds a painted egg and hands it to you, you give them whatever candy they want. And we have to make sure it's one of the wooden eggs we planted, not one they made themselves."

"I still can't believe the kids would go through all the effort to actually make the eggs themselves," Wilhelm replied.

"They might not," said Grace. "However, some people like pulling pranks and make them for the kids. We almost always get more eggs than we originally planted."

Wilhelm chuckled. "The lengths you people go to to ensure the eggs aren't fake is amazing."

That was the last word he got out before a bunch of kids swarmed him. Some were already clutching wooden eggs and charged forward to exchange them for candy. Despite himself, Wilhelm couldn't help but laugh at their enthusiasm. Grace rubbed away at the bottom to check for a marker which had been filled in with paste. Invisible, but the paste was soft and could be dug out. One by one, Grace handed the real eggs to Wilhelm, who then let the kids pick a piece of candy and handed it to them. The fake paws allowed him to use his thumb, but restricted the actual use of fingers, which was why he needed Grace to check the eggs.

The pair walked about and watched the kids run around with adults riding herd. Laughter and cries filled the air wherever they went. The kids especially seemed to enjoy tugging at the fluff of a tail on his butt. That always resulted in a good laugh from the adults around. The fans on the backpack turned out to be a godsend as the temperature continued to climb throughout the day. How the kids kept running around without breaking a sweat was beyond him. Wilhelm alternated between on and off with the fans and began to wish he could control how fast the things were going. Work up a sweat, turn it on. Get a bit chilly, turn it off. Repeat.

"Hmm, it's almost seventeen-hundred," Grace said as she checked her watch.

Wilhelm blinked. He then grabbed her wrist just in time to see the numbers flash. And he was off, with the basket safely deposited in Grace's arms.

"Good luck!" Grace called as Wilhelm made his escape.

The Easter egg hunt was capped off with the rabbit chase for the kids. Every one of them had a sticker and those who got theirs on him would receive an additional prize. One reason Wilhelm was the rabbit was because he was healthy and strong enough to be a proper rabbit. Being forced to wear the rabbit head made his job much more difficult. Most of the kids had years of experience in trying to catch the rabbit and were likely to pull off some sneaky tricks. Some were far more interested in the rabbit chase than in hunting for eggs.

As he turned the corner, Wilhelm nearly ran into three kids. They immediately stretched out their arms, trying to plant their stickers. Wilhelm jumped to the side and neatly dodged them before taking off again. He could hear disappointed cries but didn't stop to look. There were plenty of adults around and if any of the kids got hurt, they'd be tended to immediately. At this point Wilhelm was sweating hard even with the fans on. He considered dumping the backpack but decided to wait on that. The extra weight wasn't a nuisance yet and he only had to survive a half hour. He could probably do that.

For the first twenty minutes or so, Wilhelm did manage to hold his own. However, just as he was heading back to the community center, he found himself surrounded by over a dozen kids. Somehow, without even realizing it, he'd walked right into their trap. Wilhelm couldn't help but admire their cunning, but wasn't about to admit defeat. He charged forward and literally ran through the kids, picking up the one directly blocking his way.

"Congrats kid," Wilhelm said. "You get to put your sticker on me, if only because I'd get yelled at for dropping you."

The kid's smile told Wilhelm he didn't really care how he got the sticker on him, only that he did. After having it slapped on his chest, Wilhelm set he kid down and continued running. Before more kids could corner him, a bell ran, signifying the end of the chase. Wilhelm slowed to a brisk walk and made his way to the community center where Grace and the others waited.

"Not bad," Grace complimented him at the sight of only one sticker. "Elijah here let five kids tag him last year."

"Hah! That's only because Wilhelm here is a heartless beast who can ignore the cries and pleas of little children!"

"Elijah," Wilhelm began, "I wasn't aware you were so soft. Here, want a hug?"

The sight of a big rabbit moving forward with arms open must have been some sight as everyone around them burst out laughing. Elijah quickly denied any such desires and retreated from Wilhelm. He then turned to Grace, who made a show of grudgingly accepting his hug.

"You are definitely going to take a shower before I let you on the bed tonight," she said to him.

"Even though I'm all cuddly and soft?" Wilhelm joked.

Grace tapped him on the chest. "If I wanted a giant stuffed animal, you would have known long before."

Wilhelm laughed. "Probably. So, can I get out of this now?"

"Not until you give the prize to, Paul," Grace said, reading off the name on the tag.

The prize in question was a large rabbit shaped chocolate statue and Wilhelm presented it to an ecstatic Paul. There were actually a dozen chocolate statues, but since there was only one winner, the rest would likely get snatched by the adults. Wilhelm already had his eye on one in the center. He'd have to hide it somewhere before someone else could steal it. Once Paul had his prize, the kids began to disperse. Most were headed home to rest after a long day while the older kids would likely stay and listen to the music later in the evening.

Wilhelm's face was completely red when he pulled off the head. Even with the backpack, the air had started getting musty and stale so it was a relief to be out of the suit. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Wilhelm felt refreshed and joined Grace inside the main lounge. Now it was others' turn to provide the entertainment.

The makeshift stage slowly filled with a few instrumentalists who were quickly outnumbered by singers. Even though the religious aspect of Easter was becoming less and less prevalent, some traditions remained because they were popular. The choir performance was one. It might seem odd that these people would find time to play and rehearse, but this was their way of enjoying themselves.

As the noise gave way to silence, Wilhelm shifted so he could get a good view. Music, not sound replaced the silence, quickly joined by dozens of voices. Wilhelm closed his eyes and let them carry him off. The singing wasn't loud but carried an intensity that stirred the audience. It filled each of them with a sense of warmth and comfort, lifting their spirits and easing their minds. With these voices as his guides, Wilhelm drifted off and released all the anxiety and tension he felt. This was the meaning of peace, to be able to take the time to enjoy life instead of trying to experience everything before it was too late.

End of Chapter 14

I've been working on a side project, of sorts. It's basically a retelling of the events in Tiberian Sun and Firestorm. I'm sure some of you have seen my other C&C projects and noticed I began such a project, but the difference in my writing ability is quite a contrast. I can do much better than my earlier efforts, and I intend to try. Those of you who've read my earlier works will remember one Richard Conner (O'Connor) and James William Langley. That's right, I'm weaving those stories into this one, or at least I intend to. The prologue for that other story is almost done, but there're a few things I want to tweak before I do any kind of release.

Z98


	15. Chapter 15

Someone asked whether I'd extend this series into the C&C3 era. No. The time jump is just way too much, and I really don't want to do anything with the story EA pulled out. For example. Granger says GDI recovered the Tacitus in 2029, I think. It was sometime in the 2020s. Does anyone see a problem with that claim? Anyways, I may very likely rewrite the events of C&C3 in a future project to actually be consistent with the Westwood canon.

I think I ought to explain how I'm handling the term Commander in my fics. This explanation will also be in the next chapter of Point of a Spear. Anyone who's a military nut will know that there isn't an actual Commander rank within the army. It's usually a navy rank. However, we see it used to address the player as well as one Base Commander Tao. Keeping that in mind, and recalling the use of the term Battlefield Commander in the TW novel, I'll be using Field Commander and Base Commander. In my story, Commander is not a rank, but a position. Both are fairly flexible and are used more to describe the person's job than their rank. Field Commanders are those who command troops in the field, actively engaging Nod like McNeil does. They are typically Captains through Colonels in actual rank, and on rare occasions, Brigadier Generals. Base Commanders are the officers in command of GDI forward bases like Phoenix. The bases they command usually act as staging points and are not massive installations on the scale of Hammerfest or Southern Cross.

Field Commanders typically have a small group of troops that follow them around, but they usually augment that force with local troops. This is where the staging bases and Base Commanders come into play. When a Base Commander finds his base in the theater of operation of a Field Commander, he's expected to comply with whatever troop and support requests the FC might make even if he outranks the FC. It's also the BC's job to keep his general area safe and secure and thus usually don't move around much. FCs are liable to be fighting on the other side of the world their next battle.

If anyone finds my interpretations useful, you're more than welcome to use it. This is how I see the command structure of GDI, and it at least makes sense of the use of Commander. I'll work something out for Nod some other time.

Chapter 15: Erwachsensein

"Wilhelm."

Wilhelm resisted the call of consciousness and tried in vain to stay asleep. Considering the one attempting to wake him was Grace, it was probably futile.

"Wilhelm, get off me!"

A jerk and Wilhelm found himself pushed aside. His eyes napped open and he looked around. Apparently sometime during the night, he'd pinned her legs with one of his. Yawning, now that he could no longer feign sleep, he watched his wife get ready for the coming day. Grace had managed to train a few more assistants and now actually slept on a consistent schedule. The rest was good for her, not to mention the child she was carrying. Getting up himself, Wilhelm waked over and embraced her from behind.

"Mmm, feeling amorous in the morning?" she asked.

"Maybe," said Wilhelm. "I just want to have you in my arms."

"Well, you can hold me some more later," Grace replied. "Right now, I need to get over to the clinic."

Wilhelm released her. "If you must."

"Oh yes, we're expecting a large shipment of construction materials and medical supplies for expanding the clinic," Grace said. "Call me when the convoy gets here."

A nod. "Will do."

With that, Grace put on her labcoat and headed to work. Wilhelm had his own matters to take care of before the GDI supply convoy arrived. The settlement was getting larger and larger, with more mutants flowing in. The recent battles across Europe and displaced both mutants and regular humans. As one of the largest undisturbed settlements, L'Aurore had absorbed a great many refugees. While the community leaders had managed to accommodate all the newcomers, the enlargement of the settlement required a reworking of the defenses. That of course was his job.

Once Wilhelm had freshened up and ate breakfast, he headed to the communications center. The other mutant commanders filtered in not long after. The meeting area was informal but discrete enough to serve their purposes. Unlike GDI, the Forgotten depended more on paper hardcopies than computers for information storage. Thus it was faded papers that they examined to see how best to change the defenses.

"The shelter's gonna have to be expanded," Elijah muttered. "There's no way it's big enough now."

The others nodded in agreement.

"We'll also need to move the sensor posts," Titanous stated. "For that matter, we will need more of them."

"The fence too," said Wilhelm. "For that matter, I don't think we'll need it anymore."

The fence around the settlement was a mere formality. It had long ago lost any effectiveness but still acted as a marker of sorts.

"Nod's still rather active," another mutant commented. "It's like Kane's death hasn't slowed them down a bit."

"That's why we need to stay alert," said Wilhelm. "Now, what the hell happened with those laser turrets we were supposed to get!?"

"They fucked up on them," Elijah spat out. "If I heard right, someone fucked up the crystals so we have to wait for another batch before we can get them."

The only thing keeping Wilhelm from screaming out in frustration was being too busy gritting his teeth. This was the third shipment of weapons that had been delayed in just as many months. Quality control was a serious problem with the Forgotten. They were too used to cobbling things together. Their free spirit was really biting them in the ass this time. He could at least do random tests with the ammo deliveries, but the laser turret deployment was a fairly complex one. If there was a fuckup and they didn't catch it early enough, they'd have wasted far too much time, resources, and manpower.

"Remind me to visit the factory next time we go on tour," Wilhelm said, eyes closed in resignation and frustration.

A chuckle snapped them back open and he saw Elijah thoroughly enjoying himself. When he gave his friend a look, the older mutant shrugged.

"Congratulations, you have just assumed responsibility for the entire France-Germany supply chain."

"Like hell I have!" Wilhelm screamed.

The rest of the mutants burst out laughing and Wilhelm couldn't help but join them.

The Forgotten wasn't really a united nation, per se. It was a coalition nominally united by a few leaders, who all deferred to Tratos. As such, all of the major leaders did whatever they wanted within their respective territories. Well, territories was the wrong way of putting it. Various communities and troop units looked up to whoever they wanted. If a commander became unreliable, corrupt, or other problems arose, the people could easily decide to follow another local commander. With his increasing reputation and the attrition of Forgotten leaders in the last round of fighting with Nod, Wilhelm had unknowingly inherited the allegiance of dozens of communities, bases, and units across France and Germany after Rachel's death. When Elijah pointed this out, Wilhelm was forced to learn how to deal with the added responsibility. He himself technically looked up one Alberto Francois, the de facto leader of the Forgotten in Europe. The fact that Wilhelm directly deferred to him was impressive but not something he dwelt on. He had enough on his plate as it was.

"If you want something done, you have to do it yourself," Elijah went on. "If you really want to get the quality of the stuff we get up, you'll need to go down there and put the fear of God into them."

Wilhelm frowned. "Be that as it may, why is it that none of the others seem bothered with some of the crap that come out?"

"Probably resignation," Axel replied. "We're all used to it. You're just too much of a methodical, precise, and perfectionist Allemand to accept it."

"Probably," Wilhelm said with a sigh. "Moving along, how many newcomers have volunteered for the militia?"

"We've got over fifty people wanting to join up from the last batch," said Elijah. "It's gotten to the point we might end up with a full battalion stationed here."

"So long as they understand they'll be working constantly even if there's no fighting going on," Wilhelm stated. "We can't afford loafers around here."

"Too bloody right," Elijah agreed. "We'll likely have to put some of them to work in the fields, what with so many people joining us."

"I hate field work," Wilhelm growled.

"Rank hath its privileges," Titanous offered.

Wilhelm shook his head. "No, no. This isn't worth pulling rank over. Of course, I'm going to make sure all of you are right there with me, sweating it out."

Before anyone could respond to Wilhelm's comment, another mutant popped in and alerted them to the arrival of the supply convoy. Wilhelm took the opportunity to make his escape, grinning all the way out the room. The brisk pace he set got him to the front gates just as the first truck rolled to a halt. The GDI lieutenant prompted stepped out and walked up to him.

"I'm surprised to see you again, Lieutenant," Wilhelm said. "I would think this was one of the less desirable duties for a supply officer."

"That's hardly true sir," the lieutenant replied with a grin. "There's always interesting souvenirs to trade for on these trips."

Wilhelm cracked a grin himself. "Ah. Well, let's get started. The components for the clinic?"

"Second trailer, sir."

Wilhelm nodded to another mutant. "Get the Doctor."

As the mutant went to fetch Grace, the lieutenant paused and took out an envelope. "Before I forget, sir. I have another letter for you. It apparently arrived after I had already set out last week, so it's a bit late. I hope the delay isn't problematic."

Isn't problematic? Wilhelm took a deep breath to try and slow his heart. It didn't work. Instead he turned to the lieutenant and did his best to appear calm.

"None at all. I appreciate you bringing it."

"All part of the job, sir."

Wilhelm glanced at the return address but quickly pocketed the envelope as Grace appeared. He could wait to read the letter. Better not distract his wife with her work with his family issues. Once she joined them, the three walked over and Grace examined the delivery. GDI engineers and mutants were already unloading the supplies, with the mutants stepping carefully and the GDI troops following their example. Apparently no one wanted to get caught screwing up with the three of them watching. A crane was deployed from one of the trucks and began moving the compacted habit modules. Whatever heavy machinery would be needed for the expanded clinic, the settlement already had. Still, they'd make use of the GDI equipment and manpower while it was here.

Poles were shot into the ground and quick-dry cement was poured around them to form a foundation. The modules were then unpacked, a process which involved opening up and pulling out the walls, roofing, and floor. GDI hadn't quite gotten a self-unfolding habitation module going. Assembly, like always, was required. Once the modules were fully spread out, the GDI convoy took their leave. This left the rest of the mutants to finish the job. The only experience Wilhelm had with putting together such modules was from basic training, but his fellow mutants had had plenty of practice. He for the most part stayed out of their way and followed Elijah's orders. They plowed right through the work, only taking one fifteen minute break. The past few months had added quite a bit of muscle to his build, but Wilhelm was still beat when they finally finished. He was more than happy to leave the interior to Grace and her assistants.

The first thing on Wilhelm's mind when he got home was to take a shower. It was only after he felt relatively clean that he took the letter out of his pant pocket and examined it more carefully. His eyes hadn't been fooling him, the return address was from his parents. Breathing slowly, Wilhelm took out his knife and sliced open the envelope with a flick of the wrist. He set the letter on the desk and began reading.

_Wilhelm,_

_Why didn't you tell us of your condition to begin with? What did you think you gained by hiding it? You are our son no matter what disease you've contracted and you belong with us no matter what has happened to you. We're glad to hear you will be coming home soon and we look forward to it. Just let us know the day and time and we'll come pick you up._

_Your loving family_

There was an undertone in the letter that Wilhelm picked up immediately. It sounded almost like his parents were expecting him to come back and pick up where he left off. That seemed unlikely. Or perhaps they were trying to get him away from the Forgotten. Wilhelm grimaced. That seemed a much likelier possibility. Well, they would need to be disabused of that particular notion. But that could wait. He still had two weeks before Grace went on her trip and he could pass the letter through the next supply convoy. True, there were faster ways of sending messages to his family, but that would eliminate any excuse for not staying in touch with them. Wilhelm wanted to see them face to face one more time. Then, if they really could work things out, he'd be more than happy to keep up contact.

By the time Grace got home that night, she was exhausted from setting up the new modules and Wilhelm kept quiet. She gave him one of her looks before going to bed, letting him know she knew something was up. When the next day was upon them, Grace was more than rested and extracted an explanation from Wilhelm. She listened to his concerns and waited for Wilhelm to finish before offering any comment. When she did, it was succinct and direct.

"Don't let your family dictate your future."

"Easy for you to say," Wilhelm muttered.

"Yes, and easy for you to do," Grace retorted. "You once said your father didn't want you to become a soldier, and yet you did. Why is this time no different?"

Wilhelm grimaced. "Maybe it's because I want to reconnect with the past."

At that statement, Grace stood and began dressing. "We all have a past we want to go back to, even if we know it's impossible. Keep in mind the cost that you will pay for something you will never get."

Though they were true, Wilhelm resented Grace laying out his fears and wants so openly. He flopped back into bed and ignored Grace until she was gone. Apparently the good Doctor was perfectly fine with letting him stew. Sometimes her patience was maddening. Wilhelm closed his eyes and tried to straighten out his thoughts. If his family demanded he stay with them, would he obey? Did the fact he disobeyed his family to join GDI obligate him to listen to them this time? Questions continued to pound his conscience and many remained unanswered. Wilhelm stared blankly at the ceiling for several minutes before closing his eyes in resignation. Grace was right, he really couldn't go back to the way things were. And did he really want to? His childhood had revolved around trying to please a stern father and running to his mother and sister for comfort. Maybe he was just chasing after the image of a happy family, which he didn't really have back then. But he had it now, here. Why did he want to jeopardize that? The answer to that was simple. He didn't. He already had a family here and he sure as hell was not going to lose it. In fact, he'd better go make sure he still had it.

Wilhelm jumped out of bed and quickly freshened up. He controlled himself and walked over calmly to the clinic, where Grace was doing some paperwork. She was already aware of his presence but was content to let him make his move. Wilhelm wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Sorry. You're right."

"Of course I'm right," Grace said, though Wilhelm could hear her relief.

Chuckling, he kissed her in the cheek. "Yes, you're always right. And I'm always wrong. And that's the way it's going to be from now on, right?"

"Of course. You're only a man after all."

"Oh, is that how we're going to do things now?"

"That's how things always have been," Grace replied innocently.

Wilhelm burst out laughing and relaxed. Somehow, Grace always knew how to put him at ease. Maybe it was because they were so comfortable around each other.

"Hey Grace?"

"Hmm?"

"After you have this child, want to have mine?"

For a moment her body tensed but Wilhelm felt it relax slowly.

"Yes," came the whisper of an answer.

Smiling, Wilhelm leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips. The two stayed in that pose for several moments until Grace broke off.

"Wilhelm, I really need to get some work done," said Grace. "We'll talk about this later, okay?"

Wilhelm nodded. One thing he was sure of was Grace would let him stay and talk if he asked it of her. He patted her on the shoulder and left her to her work. Outside, other mutants were busy moving equipment around for the new clinic. As Wilhelm looked at it, he began to fully appreciate just how large the thing was. The clinic was now almost as large as the community center and would provide far better service for the increased population. Wilhelm had once asked why the clinic was at the edge of the settlement instead of the center, which resulted in him learning the history of how the clinic was started.

When Grace first arrived, she began a small practice in the house she shared with Gerald, which happened to be on the edge of town. The old clinic was a literal expansion of Grace's practice, nothing more. However, since she was the only professional medical practitioner around, her clinic ended up being the closest thing to a hospital the settlement had. By that time, there was no space in the settlement's center for a clinic and no one really cared to tear down the buildings there for one. Besides, the settlement really wasn't that large. Few people had trouble making the trip and those who would were already likely to be bedridden at the clinic or received visits from Grace on a regular basis. In other words, a combination of resigned acceptance and already established precedent worked against any attempts to bring about change. Then again, it wasn't like moving the clinic was that important.

Though he'd made up his mind, the decision still weighed on him throughout the day. He managed to get through the day but even Elijah made a comment about his lack of concentration. Wilhelm forced his mind back onto his work and managed to get his family out of his mind. When the day was over, he felt far more mentally exhausted than before. Thankfully, Grace seemed aware of his tension and easily alleviated them with her charms.

The next two weeks were a blur of activity. With Grace leaving for a bit, she needed to delegate her duties to her assistants. Wilhelm had it easier, as Elijah could easily handle his job while he was gone. After sending off the letter to his family, all Wilhelm had to do was wait. Well, not entirely true. Since he needed minimal preparation to leave, Grace drafted him to help her with her work. When they were finally ready to leave, Wilhelm had some trouble figuring out where all the time had gone.

"We'll be driving to a GDI air base in the region, which will fly us over to the research facility where Tratos is working," Wilhelm said. "After that, I'll catch a ride to Kiel and be back in about a week."

"And GDI knows you plan on visiting your family?" Grace asked.

Wilhelm nodded as he got onto the hummer. "I filled a request or transport and it's been cleared. And it's not like they could stop me. I could just as easily use our own network to get there."

"Alright, but you're staying long enough to meet Tratos," Grace said as she climbed in.

"But of course. I wouldn't miss meeting the man for the world."

The grin on Wilhelm's face suggested he would for her, but she was the one determined to have the two meet. Either way, it was going to happen. The drive was fairly routine, with no ambushes or troublemakers about. Entry into the GDI base also went smoothly, though Wilhelm caught a few glances their way. Or more specifically, glances Grace's way. Even if she was a mutant, she was a woman. Wilhelm shook his head and guided Grace over to their waiting transport. Count on male testosterone to dominate their entire thought process. Once in the air, Wilhelm settled down and looked out the window. With his attention fixed on the view, it came as a surprise when Grace gripped his hand. Looking over, Grace's face was surprisingly tense. Could it be?

"Grace, are you afraid of flying?"

"Not flying," Grace said tightly. "Heights."

A chuckle escaped Wilhelm but Grace's glare stifled any others. The Doctor really didn't like showing any weaknesses. Still, Wilhelm tightened his grip and offered a reassuring smile. He'd always enjoyed flying as it was evidence that man could defy his natural limitations. When they landed, it was with visible relief that Grace disembarked.

A lieutenant was there to greet them and escorted them towards the main compound. As they drove through, Wilhelm noticed the number of troops and heavy armor present. This was no minor outpost or forward base, this was a fully fledged GDI base. Defenses covered the various points of entry and soldiers, mutant and GDI, patrolled the perimeter and inside the walls. GDI was obviously serious about keeping this place safe. As they approached the research center, Wilhelm's eyes widened. Surrounding the research center was a Firestorm system, one of GDI's most advanced defensive technologies. Capable of protecting against even ballistic missiles, the Firestorm system was only deployed at the most sensitive facilities. Besides Hammerfest, Wilhelm had heard that Southern Cross and Rammstein were equipped with it, but those were the only deployments he knew of.

Outside the Firestorm perimeter, the vehicle stopped and the soldiers checked identification on everyone present. Wilhelm rattled off his old authentication code, which caused the GDI guard to raise an eyebrow. However, when the authentication checked out, he immediately saluted him. Wilhelm returned it as the Firestorm went down. The moment they were through, a whoosh signaled its reactivation.

"How do they get any work done with the noise?" Wilhelm wondered aloud.

"The labs are sound proof," the lieutenant answered.

The vehicle ground to a halt and they exited. Another security check took place before they were cleared to enter. Even inside, GDI wasn't taking any chances. Guards were stationed everywhere and surveillance equipment tracked their every move. However, inside the laps, visible security was reduced. Grace walked over to an older man and the two embraced.

"Grace, it's good to see you again."

"Same to you, Tratos."

The two stepped back and Tratos looked over to Wilhelm. "And this must be your husband."

Tratos extended a hand and Wilhelm took it. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"The honor's all mine," Tratos replied with a smile. "But please, call me Tratos."

"Tratos," Wilhelm said slowly, "it is."

"I've heard much about you," Tratos went on. "You've accomplished quite a bit since joining us."

"Thank you, Tratos."

Tratos grinned again. "So, are you here to see our work?"

Wilhelm nodded. "Grace insisted I acquaint myself with your projects."

"Tratos is the one who developed the screening process we're using for the program," Grace said.

Wilhelm blinked. "I see."

"It was part of my work on developing a serum to reverse Nod's divination process," Tratos said. "I noticed that certain genetic markers resisted change. By triggering those, I hoped to repair the damage Tiberium did."

"And?" Wilhelm pressed when Tratos paused.

"It unfortunately accelerated the process," Tratos said grimly. "But I'm sure the key is with the unaffected markers. Ah, but I'm rambling. The good Commander isn't here to hear me prattle on about my work. I hear the two of you have decided to have a child?"

Grace nodded firmly while Wilhelm felt his face redden slightly. He still wasn't used to openly discussing matters like that with others.

"Well, we'll of course require a sperm sample to screen," Tratos said with a grin. "So get to it!"

As Wilhelm went off to do his business, Grace couldn't help but grin. She'd already undergone the procedure to remove her eggs and the most stable ones were already in cold storage, waiting to give life. With this way, there was a high chance their children would be healthy and live a longer life. The future of their people depended on the next generation surviving. When Wilhelm returned, his face was even redder. He cleared his throat and nodded to indicate his sample had been taken. At the sight of this, Grace couldn't help but smile. She'd have plenty of time to tease him about it later. For now, there was other work to do.

"So will you be staying with us?" Tratos asked.

Wilhelm shook his head. "I'll be visiting my family in Kiel for a bit, then swing back to pick up Grace."

"Your family?"

"Yes. I'm actually the only mutant in the family."

Tratos nodded understandingly. "I see. Well, I wish you the best."

With a final nod and a hug with Grace, Wilhelm left the labs. Tratos was certainly a fascinating person and he intended to take the time to have a proper chat with the man. There was something about him that made him feel trustworthy and Wilhelm was beginning to understand why he was looked up to, why so many mutants put their hope in him. He also could understand why GDI was sparing no expense in protecting him. Wilhelm even noticed a Ghost Stalker walking around on his way to the transport. Satisfied that Grace would be safe, Wilhelm boarded the transport and was on his way.

The hop to the Kiel base was short and Wilhelm was on the ground before he knew it. As he stepped out, a captain came forward and saluted.

"Commander Feydrich," the captain greeted.

Wilhelm glanced at the captain's tag and returned the salute. "Captain Wittich."

"Welcome to Kiel Naval Base," she said. "I was informed you're here on a personal matter?"

Wilhelm nodded. "I'm here to see my family."

"I see, sir. Please, come this way. We have a car for your use while you're here. Though the base CO requests that you adhere to contact protocols while here. I will also accompany you while you're with us."

Contact protocols, which basically meant he wasn't allowed into the city. Wilhelm shrugged. He'd arranged to meet his family at the GDI medical facility right outside the base. That would save him the trouble of getting them clearance to come onto base as well as allow him to follow the rules, no matter how ridiculous he felt them to be. Well, General Langley had gone through the trouble of granting him his present authority. Best not to screw it up.

"Don't you have more important matters than riding herd on me?" Wilhelm asked as they got into the car. At least the captain didn't try to take the driver's seat. "I would have thought someone with a lieutenant's rank would be sufficient."

"Begging our pardon, sir, but considering your rather, unique position, it was felt someone with a higher security clearance would be better."

Wilhelm snorted. "I somehow doubt that's meant to be a compliment. Anyways, I'll be in and out before you know it. Depending on how things go, this could end up being a very short visit."

The captain looked at Wilhelm sympathetically but he focused on his driving. The rest of the ride was in silence, though it certainly wasn't long enough to give either of them time to come up with new conversation topics. Once parked, the two entered the medical facility and checked in. To Wilhelm's surprise, his family was already present. Outside the room, he paused.

"Please wait out here, Captain," he said politely.

Wittich nodded and took a seat. Taking a deep breath, Wilhelm opened to door to see three people waiting nervously inside. Their heads snapped up and their eyes fell on him. For a moment, Wilhelm froze, then slowly entered the room and closed the door behind him. If anyone was breathing, he'd be surprised. The first one to move was Karen and she approached him timidly. She reached out but paused, as if afraid of touching him. Wilhelm tilted his head slightly and offered her a smile.

"I'm not contagious," he said, breaking the silence.

As if that was the only assurance she needed, Karen threw her arms around him and began sobbing. Wilhelm held onto her tightly and waited for her to calm down. A hint of a smile appeared on Hanne but Fastred remained solemn. Count on his father to hide his feelings at a moment like this. Once Karen had let him go, they all took a seat and silence descended once more. Wilhelm finally grew tired of it and cleared his throat.

"So," he began. "I'm back."

His family exchanged glances before Fastred spoke. "Indeed you are. And we're happy to have you back."

Wilhelm stared at his father, wondering whether he should make clear his intentions now or leave it unsaid and let this happy family reunion go on a bit longer. Surprisingly, Fastred blinked and faltered under Wilhelm's scrutiny. It felt strange, being able to face down his own father.

"You've grown," Fastred commented.

"War'll do that to a man," Wilhelm stated.

When Fastred seemed at a loss for a response, Hanne spoke up. "We've not seen each other for a long time, Wilhelm. And your letters have been extremely brief. We still don't know how you've lived for the past year."

Wilhelm tapped the table with a hand as he tried to come up with an answer. "Let's see. I joined the Forgotten, I lost the love of my life to Tiberium, I'm now the leader of the mutant cells in Germany and France, I got married, and my wife is pregnant."

Wilhelm's statement wasn't very long, but it was still enough of an information overload to freeze his family. Again, Karen was the first to act.

"You're married?"

Wilhelm grinned and nodded.

"But, you said the love of your life was, well."

"Two different women, obviously," said Wilhelm. "I've had an entire year for everything to happen to me."

Fastred cleared his throat. "And what are your plans for the immediate future?"

Wilhelm shrugged. "Kane's dead but Nod still seems active. I have a responsibility to the Forgotten, which I intend to fulfill."

"And your responsibility to your family?"

There it was. Wilhelm didn't know if his father really thought he'd come crawling back, but the question had been put forth.

"I have a wife and I'll soon have a child," said Wilhelm. "My familial responsibilities are now to them."

Wilhelm knew his father wanted to argue that point. He could see it in his eyes. Yet his father was too much of a Christian to demand he abandon his wife.

"Wilhelm, we'd love it if you could stay with us for a while," Hanne said, intervening before an argument could break out. "You're still part of our family, no matter what."

"I'm not allowed into the city," Wilhelm stated. "You can thank your fellow citizens for that particular restrictions against my fellow mutants."

Hanne and Karen winced while Fastred's face tightened. "Is that any way to speak to your mother? After so long?"

Wilhelm glared back at his father. So this was how it was going to be. They expected guilt to make him behave.

"I speak the truth. Are you asking me to lie?"

Unused to his son throwing his own back at him, Fastred sank back. Seeing his father falter again, Wilhelm's face softened.

"I now have a reason to live. I could have just wallowed in some hospital and wasted away. Instead, I lived. I went out there and lived a life. I'm not about to stop living and I'm not about to let anything take my life away."

"So your decision's been made," Fastred said.

Wilhelm nodded. There wasn't anything else for him to say and certainly no reason for him to offer further justification. Fastred suddenly stood and offered Wilhelm a nod. He then walked out the room with Hanne after him. Karen remained and cracked a small smile.

"I think you impressed Father."

Wilhelm let out a long sigh and slumped down. The meeting had taken a lot out of him.

"That went a lot better than I thought it would," Wilhelm admitted.

"Oh? Did you expect Father o start yelling at you?"

Wilhelm nodded. "He certainly did when I said I was joining GDI."

Karen smiled softly. "Father's realized since then driving you off like that nearly got you killed. I don't think he wants that on his conscience."

"Hmm, true enough. So, how's Adelric behaving? And Wilhelm?"

The smile grew. "Wilhelm's growing so fast right now. And Adelric's keeping busy. He offered to come, you know, but I said it'd be better if we didn't put any more pressure on Father."

Adelric, Wilhelm's brother-in-law, was actually a good guy. Wilhelm rather liked the guy, though Fastred had given his permission rather grudgingly.

"So he's not superstitious?" Wilhelm asked.

Karen shook her head. "Remember, he's worked on humanitarian projects before."

"Ah. Well, I'll be here for another day or two. If you want to talk again, just drop me a line in my email account."

Karen nodded but her eyes snapped open. "You mean you still have access to it!?"

Sheepishly, Wilhelm nodded. "Sorry. Wasn't quite ready to have my inbox flooded."

With a huff, Karen walked over and thwacked Wilhelm on the head. However, she couldn't keep a straight face and a smile cracked. After giving Wilhelm another hug, Karen walked out the room, leaving him alone. Wilhelm sat there for a bit, absorbing everything that had happened. It certainly turned out better than he'd hoped and when he left with Captain Wittich, he felt a lot better.

"I assume you'll be staying for a bit longer?" the captain asked.

Wilhelm nodded and was shown to some quarters he could use back at the base. It was a standard officers quarters and thus fairly spacious for one man. The day was almost gone by now and Wilhelm was exhausted with his hopping about. After a quick shower, he hit the sack and let sleep overcome him.

Pounding on his door woke Wilhelm and he nearly jumped out of bed. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was four in the morning. Not bothering pulling on any pants, he trudged to the door to find Captain Wittich waiting for him.

"What the hell is this about?" he asked, too sleepy to bother with politeness.

From the looks of it, Captain Wittich had also been dragged out of bed. Her uniform was ragged and her hair in complete disarray.

"Sir, Tratos has been assassinated!"

To be fair, it was early in the morning and Wilhelm wasn't fully conscious. However, the thought that crossed his mind was not about Tratos' death, but whether Grace was still alive.

"WHAT!?"

"Please come with me, sir. General Kraft wants to speak with you."

Wilhelm grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt and charged out, putting them on as he went. By the time Wittich had led him to the commander center, he was mostly dressed. Wilhelm barely remembered to salute but that was all the courtesy he was ready to extend GDI at this moment.

"What the hell happened!"

The general raised an eyebrow but seemed to excuse Wilhelm considering the situation. He nodded towards the main screen which showed a map of the Kiel area.

"At 0100 hours, a Black Hand assassination team managed to infiltrate the research facility where Tratos was working. They disabled the power plants, which brought down the Firestorm system and knocked out sensors. An underground APC then tunneled to the facility and we believe Cyborgs were used to attack. They targeted Tratos specifically so we're fairly sure he was the target."

"What about the other researchers there?" Wilhelm demanded.

The general gave him a surprised look. "We're still compiling a list of casualties. Our forces were able to fall on the assassins so they couldn't do too much more damage, but Tratos' death is already causing repercussions."

"General," Wilhelm said darkly. "My wife was part of Tratos' team."

That gave the general pause. "I see. What is her name?"

"Grace Rossignol."

"Lieutenant, search for Grace Rossignol in the casualty reports."

A pause. "No matches, sir."

Wilhelm didn't relax. That didn't necessarily mean Grace had survived.

"Dispatch a request on her status," the general said, surprising Wilhelm. "Mark it priority."

"Yes sir."

Turning back to Wilhelm, the general grimaced. "For now, we can only wait for news. But there's another matter that I require your assistance on."

"Very well."

"There are several Forgotten encampments around Kiel," the general said, nodding at the map. "All are small, but it seems you people are well armed no matter the numbers. We've spotted activity and I'm afraid there might be a riot. If things get out of control, we could have civilian casualties on both sides."

"How can I help?" Wilhelm asked.

"Can you calm them down? Get them to stand down? I don't want a bloodbath on my hands here, but I will protect Kiel from any threat, be it Nod or otherwise."

Wilhelm's face turned grim. The general wasn't bluffing, and in his shoes, he might have done the same.

"Sir, patrol reports movement in sector five. It seems the mutants are moving en mass."

"Get me a car," said Wilhelm. "I'll try to head them off and order them to stand down."

"Will they obey?"

Wilhelm shrugged. "In theory, I command them. Whether they'll listen to orders right now is another matter."

The general nodded. "Captain, escort the Commander to a vehicle."

"Yes sir."

The two were soon racing out the base in a command hummer. The captain drove like a madwoman as Wilhelm accessed updates through the onboard computer. The mutants were making good time, which was surprising. It was starting to look like they wouldn't be able to cut them off. As they neared the city perimeter, Wilhelm could make out lights coming towards them. GDI soldiers were nervously positioned around and seemed relieved to see the command hummer appear. That relief disappeared when Wilhelm climbed out and some even pointed their weapons at him.

"Stand down!" Wittich shouted. "That's an order!"

Slowly, the soldiers lowered their weapons, but all were twitchy. Wilhelm had to stop this now before the shooting actually started. He stepped forward, with the earliest hint of dawn lighting him. At the sight of this single man stepping forward to challenge them, the mutant posse came to a halt and waited.

Inhaling deeply, Wilhelm let out a loud cry. "WHAT the BLOODY FUCK are you IDIOTS DOING!"

The shout caught the mutants completely off guard and they looked around at each other, unsure of what to do. With the dim light, they still couldn't see it was Wilhelm, but the glint off his face told them he was a mutant. Finally, a mutant stepped forward to answer him.

"Tratos is dead! We demand vengeance!"

With someone to follow, the mutants shouted their agreement. Wilhelm felt his own rage rise, but for different reasons.

"The why the hell are any of you here!" he screamed. "GDI didn't kill Tratos, Nod did!"

"GDI failed to protect Tratos!" the same mutant called back.

"Tratos was protected by GDI and our fellow brethren! Are you saying they failed as well!? So why aren't you marching against them!"

An unease began spreading amongst the gathered mutants. They obviously weren't expecting to be met with reason and logic.

"Who the hell are you! And why are you protecting GDI!"

That mutant, Wilhelm decided, was a troublemaker that needed to be slapped down. He stepped closer and some of the mutants gasped as recognized him.

"I am Wilhelm Feydrich, and I order you to stand down, immediately!"

A hush fell upon the mutants, for all of them knew the name. However, the instigator wasn't about to give up.

"So you're just GDI's pet dog! You don't care about Tratos or any of us!"

If Wilhelm had a weapon on him, the man would likely have been dead then and there. He stormed forward, grabbed the man by the collar, and landed a punch across his face. The man snapped back but Wilhelm kept his grip and pulled him forward.

"Listen to me, you son of a bitch," Wilhelm screamed. "My wife is on Tratos' research team. Right now, I don't know whether she's dead or not but I'm still out here trying to save your sorry necks. But if you say that to me one more time, I'll snap yours with my bare hands!"

That finally shut the man up and Wilhelm threw him aside. He still had to disperse this crowd before they could overcome their shock.

"As for all of you, go home! You're all doing exactly what Nod wants. The Brotherhood wants us and GDI at each other's throats. They want us to kill each other, so they can come and pick off whoever survives. Are you all so stupid as to become pawns of Nod!? Are you going HELP the very people who murdered Tratos!?"

This time no one offered any rebuttal. It seemed like reason was getting through to them.

"Go home," Wilhelm ordered. "We've still got a war to fight and like hell am I going to let you waste time and effort on this stupidity. When we avenge Tratos, I expect us to be ready, not in tatters because we were stupid enough to let Nod play us like puppets."

Slowly, ever so slowly, the mutants began backing off. All the huff and puff was gone and hopefully they would be too tired when they got home to be restless. But for now, there wasn't going to be any trouble. However, Wilhelm wasn't quite done. He grabbed hold of the mutant from before and pulled him back.

"And if I ever catch you making trouble again, I'll put you down."

With that last warning, Wilhelm let the man go. Hopefully it would be enough. If not, he'd carry out his threat. As Wilhelm walked back, he noticed a camera crew shooting away. Count on reporters to risk their lives to get a story. Suddenly, the GDI soldiers came to attention and saluted. Wilhelm responded in kind and noticed Captain Wittich grinning by the hummer. He couldn't get in fast enough, not with that damn camera following his every move.

"This will likely be on the news before we get back to base," she said.

"Great," Wilhelm muttered. "Just what I need."

The ride back was in silence as Wilhelm continued checking the tactical reports. It seemed like the mutants were following his orders and dispersing. GDI soldiers remained on alert but no other signs of trouble appeared. When they entered the base, Wilhelm noticed a sharpness to the salutes people were giving him. Apparently his actions had reached the command center before him. He was quickly escorted to the general, who also offered a salute.

"Well done, Commander, and thank you."

Wilhelm nodded. "Just part of the job, sir."

"While you were away, we received an update from the research center," said Kraft. "Your wife has been found, but she was wounded in the fighting."

Wilhelm's eyes darkened at the news. "With your permission, sir."

Kraft nodded. "A transport is already standing by. I've called ahead to let them know you're coming."

"Thank you, sir."

With one final salute, Wilhelm dashed out to the airstrip. He quickly boarded the waiting transport and it shot off into the sky. During the flight, Wilhelm remembered to check his email. His family was likely to know what was happening and Karen would definitely have tried to contact him. Indeed, there were over ten messages from her. He typed out a response explaining what had happened and why he was leaving. By the time he had sent it, they were landing. Wilhelm bolted off the transport and didn't even bother saluting the GDI soldier waiting for him.

"Where's my wife?"

"This way, sir."

The two got on a jeep and sped towards the infirmary. As they passed through the base, Wilhelm saw a few destroyed buildings but otherwise the base seemed to be intact. However, that was little consolation to him. Grace had been hurt and he wouldn't rest easy until he had her in his arms. The jeep braked and Wilhelm jumped out before it could stop. He entered the infirmary and saw dozens of men and women lying on beds. Some were crying out in pain while others were blissfully unconscious. He immediately grabbed a passing medic.

"Excuse me, where's Dr. Rossignol?"

The medic blinked. "Dr. Rossignol? I believe she's in surgery."

"What? What happened?"

"Commander Feydrich?"

Wilhelm turned towards the voice and released the medic. A man in operating clothes was standing behind him.

"Yes?"

"I'm Dr. Bock."

"Doctor, my wife?"

For a moment, Bock remained silent. Wilhelm was about to shake the man for an answer when he finally spoke.

"Your wife is alive and will survive. However, I'm afraid the trauma caused her to miscarry."

Wilhelm felt his chest tighten and his heart throb. A dangerous glint shone in his eyes as the full meaning of the words settled in. His breathing grew shallow and his fists clenched. Anger and sorrow welled up inside, surpassing even the pain he suffered when he lost Rachel. When he finally found his voice, it was husky and cracked.

"C-can I see her?"

Bock nodded and guided him to a side room. "She's resting so please make it short. And Commander, I'm sorry."

Wilhelm said nothing as he entered in. He closed the door gently and walked over to Grace's side. Kneeing down, he took her hand. Slowly, her eyes opened and eyes red from crying gazed up at him. Tears began to well up again and he leaned down to embrace her.

"Wilhelm," Grace whispered, her voice even weaker than his own. "I lost him. I lost him."

"Shhh, I'm here. I'm here."

Without knowing it, Wilhelm's own eyes began to water and run down his cheek. With every single drop, he proclaimed his sorrow, his grief. But the eyes that shed this pain was of a different light. They burned with vengeance, vengeance for the suffering of his beloved and of his people.

End of Chapter 15

I really need to wrap this up before I lose my momentum. Umm, I'm thinking, one more chapter, then an epilogue. The stuff I have planned for the epilogue's gonna be interesting to say the least. Then I can work on Point of a Spear. Hopefully that doesn't take me more than a year or two to finish, but no promises. I have several other projects that I really should pay attention to.

Z98


	16. Chapter 16

I guess I need to make this clear. That particular riot was not the same as the mission we play in FS. It was but one of several that are implied by the mission.

I also blame my keyboard for all the errors that slipped through last chapter. This thing has a tendency to misbehave and not type when I hit keys. I'm working my way through it and I might upload a cleaned up copy if I have the time.

This chapter is turning out to be the longest I've written for this series.

Chapter 16: We Fallen Few

The swirling fan made a rustling noise that filled the otherwise silent room. One occupant was sound asleep while the other was in a foul mood. To disturb one was to disturb the other, and since Wilhelm had a railgun at his side, everyone went out of their way to avoid his attention. Few people could come in without his glare burning into them, most especially if they were GDI. Despite the massive fuckup with Tratos, Wilhelm knew Grace was far safer in the middle of this GDI base, especially with the new generators being placed inside the Firestorm perimeter this time. The base was also heavily reinforced by both GDI and the Forgotten. There were at least five other Ghost Stalkers present along with almost a full battalion from the Special Warfares Division.

Wilhelm was under no illusions why GDI was determined to keep Grace alive. Not only was she part of Tratos' research team, Grace was highly respected amongst mutants worldwide. She was one of several people Tratos had trained over the years, as potential heirs to his legacy. Now, she was one of the few still alive. The attack had gotten several others and Grace had survived through sheer luck. GDI was desperate to keep the Forgotten united and avoid some kind of civil war. Several major factions were furious with their failure to protect Tratos, though few were ready to take action just yet. The initial flareups were quickly dealt with by both GDI and the more rational Forgotten cells, but the situation remained tenuous. Grace was instrumental to reuniting the Forgotten, but to do that, she had to live. The scowl on Wilhelm's face deepened. There was no way in hell he would let her go.

Grace herself had been falling in and out of consciousness. A heavy fever had just broken the night before and she was slowly regaining physical strength. Mental strength was another matter. The few times she'd been awake Grace remained silent and simply stared at the ceiling. At least she responded to him and seemed to be putting herself back together.

The door clicked open and he glanced over, rifle half raised. A man in officer's combat dress entered and nodded to him. Wilhelm relaxed slightly, but continued staring as the man pulled up a chair.

"Wilhelm."

"General."

General Langley was one of the few GDI higher ups Wilhelm would even consider trusting. The general looked like hell and the circles under his eyes further reinforced his harried look.

"I'll be blunt," Langley said. "I need a favor."

Wilhelm blinked. "With all due respect, General. I'm not feeling very charitable right now."

"I know, and you're not likely to be pleased with my request. But I still have to ask, if only because the fate of the world may depend on it."

After a few moments considering, Wilhelm nodded for the general to continue.

"Have you heard of the Tacitus?"

"Every mutant has," Wilhelm replied.

"Right. Well, we've just gained some intel that suggests there's a second segment to it. We also have a location, but it's not someplace we can access easily. It's deep in a heavily Tiberium transformed region of Bolivia."

That was all Wilhelm needed. "You want us to go in and retrieve it for you."

Langley shook his head. "I want _you_ to retrieve it for us. This op is extremely sensitive and it also requires a bit of finesse. We have reason to believe there's some kind of cult in that region and to go in guns blazing could be disastrous."

Wilhelm stared at the general. "And I'm the only one you trust to do this job?"

The grimace said otherwise. "You're the only one in the Forgotten that I would trust with this mission, normally. However, in the state you're in, I have serious reservations about asking for your help."

"But you're still here."

"That should tell you how important I think this is."

Sinking back, Wilhelm glanced over at Grace. She looked so peaceful right now, while at rest. But the moment she woke up, the harshness of reality would come crashing down.

"Where did this intel come from?"

Langley's hesitation immediately alerted Wilhelm. He continued staring at the general, waiting for an answer.

"You understand you may not repeat what I tell you now."

Wilhelm nodded impatiently. If he didn't like the answer, he could always refuse the request.

"After Tratos was assassinated, General Cortez ordered the capture of Cabal, Kane's AI. We succeeded, and that's our source."

Wilhelm's face went white. He nearly forgot where he was at and just stopped short of screaming at Langley.

"What the hell are you people thinking!?" he hissed. "No, I take that back, you people aren't thinking!"

"Stow it," Langley snapped, and the retort was enough to give Wilhelm pause. "Keep this in mind, Wilhelm. GDI is desperate in its own way. You're fighting for the survival of your people, but we're fighting for the survival of this planet. You claim to excel at unconventional methods of warfare, but so do we. There are some things you would never dare try which we have no reservations doing and this is one of them."

The outburst caught Wilhelm completely by surprise. The impression he had of Langley from their previous conversations was that of a mild mannered but competent officer. Now, Wilhelm realized there was an edge to the man, one which made him all the more dangerous for anyone who stood in his way.

"How important is this second segment?"

"It might allow us to read the data in the Tacitus."

Like all Forgotten, Wilhelm knew that Tratos was somehow able to translate the gibberish the Tacitus supposedly produced. He also knew the Tacitus was supposed to have vast amounts of information on Tiberium, information that might help save his people. That might save him. That might save Grace. After all, they were all suffering from that blasted green crystal.

"Fine, I'll go."

"You sure?"

Wilhelm snorted. "There're some things a man has to do, regardless of how he feels. Just one thing. If anything, and I mean anything, happens to Grace while I'm gone, I won't be there to stop the rest of the Forgotten from trying to tear you guys apart. I'll likely be helping them."

"Which means you understand my reluctance in sending you on this mission."

"Only a fool wouldn't."

"But as you said, sometimes a man has to do things he would rather not." Langley slowly stood. "You'll be working with our current point field commander, Colonel Jack Granger. He's a sharp and to the point man."

"So long as he knows what his job is. But mark my words, General. If and when this thing fucks up, I will be there to say I told you."

Langley snorted. "You'd likely be justified. The transport will live in twenty minutes."

With that, the general walked out the room and Wilhelm was left with Grace once more. He walked over and knelt down. Only twenty minutes to say goodbye and Grace was still asleep. A gentle shake roused her, though Wilhelm regretted disturbing her rest.

"Hey," he whispered. "There's something I need to do. I'll be gone for a few days. You gonna be okay?"

Grace smiled sadly. "Off to fight once more?"

For a moment Wilhelm almost said no, to hell with the war. Yet if he didn't go, someone else would. Someone had to make the sacrifice even if it wasn't him.

"We all fight in our own ways," he said gently. "And I expect you to win yours, no matter what."

"I will," Grace whispered back.

A brief kiss sealed the promise and Wilhelm was on his way. With ion storm activity raging across the planet, it was impossible to skip across the upper atmosphere. Instead, they flew over the Atlantic in an older Orca transport. The hours long ride at least gave Wilhelm the chance to talk with Colonel Granger. The man was about twice Wilhelm's age and spoke in a gruff tone.

"That AI's nothing but trouble," Granger stated. "If the reports are right, it's got a personality of its own, which means it's probably got an agenda of its own."

"So why are we following its suggestions?" Wilhelm queried.

Granger snorted. "Because we don't have any better plans. Hell, we don't _have_ any other plans. It's either this works or kiss the human race goodbye."

Despite himself, Wilhelm began to like Granger. The colonel was everything Langley had said he was, what little he had said.

"So how long have you been with GDI?" Wilhelm asked.

"Twenty-some years," Granger replied. "I originally joined to help pay for college, but decided to go career, see the world. Didn't realize how much paperwork I'd have to do in the process."

Wilhelm chuckled. "There's one advantage being in the Forgotten. Less red tape."

"I can well imagine. But there's some downsides to spending your life in uniform. I've never had time for family."

At that, Wilhelm blinked. It was true, being a career soldier often strained relationships. He hadn't been in GDI long enough to experience it and life with the Forgotten had given him the opportunity to find someone to spend the rest of his life with, no matter how shortened it was. His thoughts momentarily shifted back to Grace. Hopefully her recovery was still on track. Then again, he hadn't even been gone for a few hours. But it was only a few hours after he left the research facility that Tratos had been assassinated. Wilhelm growled at the thought.

"Don't worry," Granger said. "We might have messed up, but that doesn't mean we don't learn from our mistakes."

"I hope so. I don't think GDI can survive any more mistakes of that magnitude."

Granger nodded. "We can only hope Cabal is being level with us. But I can't say I trust that damn machine. General Cortez doesn't either, but Dr. Boudreau thinks it's the only way. Since she's the preeminent expert on Tiberium, we really don't have any choice but to try it."

"I've heard of Dr. Boudreau, but I don't know much about her," Wilhelm confessed.

"Not surprising. Most of her work is classified so it's not like she's had lots of publications. But generally, no one that good in the field would be allowed to release their research so freely. I've met her a few times. She's a smart woman and even if I don't trust Cabal, I trust her."

"I see."

"Sirs, we're approaching Salvador Air Base."

The two sat back as the transport began its descent. Anyone not walking around was already buckled in, and few were brave enough to try walking around unless absolutely necessary with all the turbulence. It was as if the earth was angry and the storms that rocked the transport was a manifestation of that anger. The landing at least went smoothly and Wilhelm was glad to be on solid ground, if only for a little bit. That relief disappeared quickly as the heat assaulted him.

Nearby a massive walker stomped towards a waiting heavy transport. The thing looked like a regular Titan except for three massive cannons mounted on the legs. Wilhelm didn't recognize the walker. There certainly wasn't anything like it when he was still part of GDI.

"A Juggernaut prototype," Granger stated. "It was rushed through the initial design phase, though it performed decently in testing. They're deploying the prototype run into the field for evaluation."

"Is that an actual artillery unit?"

Granger smiled. "Good eye. Our artillery support is a joke in many places, with units using leftover equipment from disbanded national armies. We've sorely needed a proper artillery deployment, but those idiots in that ivory space station keep insisting the ion cannon is all the artillery we need." A snort told Wilhelm all he needed to know about Granger's opinion on that. "Thankfully, we've still got some traditionalists and they forced through the design."

"Oh? Who?"

Granger grinned. "Major General James William Langley. He thinks highly of you."

Wilhelm blinked. "Isn't General Langley part of Space Command?"

A nod. "He often butts heads with the other officers in SC, but he has friends amongst the officers that took part in the last war. Ah, Dr. Ibenez."

Walking towards them was a man in a long coat, though Wilhelm had no idea why. The man pushed up his glasses as he came to a halt. Both Granger and Wilhelm seemed to tower over the hunched man and he smiled weakly at them.

"Good day, sirs," he greeted nervously."

"Dr. Ibenez, this is Commander Feydrich," Granger introduced them. "He'll be accompanying you and Private Emerson when you drop."

"A pleasure, Commander," Ibenez said, extending his hand.

Wilhelm shook it and nodded back. The doctor looked somewhat lanky and would likely be the slowest of the group. Obviously GDI was counting on him to locate the Tacitus and Wilhelm and this Private Emerson to keep him alive long enough to find it.

"So what are you a doctor of?" Wilhelm asked. "Tiberium?"

"Oh my no," Ibenez said with a chuckle. "I'm an archaeologist. I've been briefed on the mission and its importance, but I personally have no special expertise when it comes to Tiberium."

Wilhelm raised an eyebrow and looked to Granger for an explanation. The colonel merely shrugged.

"We believe the Tacitus is located inside an old native American pyramid. Dr. Ibenez is the local expert on ancient pictographs and symbols."

"I see."

At least this particular aspect of the mission made sense. When Granger directed them to the large transport with the Juggernaut onboard, Wilhelm gave him another questioning look.

"The area is considered hostile territory," said Granger. "We can't move in a large force, so if there are people who try to stop us, hitting them from afar is preferable to having you try and take on large groups."

Wilhelm snorted. "Too true. But this thing isn't exactly discreet."

"I'll be in the air to hopefully spot any trouble. Didn't you get a mission briefing?"

"The briefing I got only covered the area and what little intel GDI has on the natives. It mentioned very little on how you guys intended to find this Tacitus segment. This is why I keep thinking this mission is incredibly ill-conceived."

"Is that so? Here." Granger slapped a folder into Wilhelm's chest. "You've got a good half hour before you land. Take the time to review the details. But do not take that with you into the field."

"Of course."

The third member of the ground team was already on the transport waiting for them. Private Emerson turned out to be a medic, not a combat soldier, though Wilhelm realized it wasn't surprising. Even though he hadn't been filled in on the details, some thought had been given to executing this mission. This thought was reinforced as Wilhelm looked over Granger's briefing file. UAVs were already over the area, though two had been lost to ion activity after trying to go higher. They were coming in low to avoid the same fate.

The UAVs had provided more detailed maps of the region and had tagged three possible temples to investigate. While they weren't too far away, it would still be a hell of a hike checking out all three. Wilhelm was used to trudging around like a grunt and he was fairly sure the private had plenty of practice. Whether the archaeologist was similarly fit was another matter. If worse came to worse, they could always have him ride with the Juggernaut.

As for the Juggernaut itself, the walker was apparently controlled by a four man crew, a pilot, two gunners, and a commander. Wilhelm took the time to have a short chat with the commander, to get a feel for the Juggernaut's capabilities. From a conventional standpoint, bringing artillery on a mission like this seemed foolish, especially such a large unit. Still, used properly, it promised to make his mission much easier.

There wasn't much more time to relax. The transport landed and the team disembarked. Wilhelm surveyed the region and let out a curse.

"Colonel," he said over the radio, "we've got a massive growth of Veinholes here. There's no way the Juggernaut can cross that."

"Can you find the mouth?" Granger replied. "Taking it out will cause the growth to recede."

Wilhelm grunted. "I'll take a look. Private, you're with me. Doctor, stay with the Juggernaut."

"Yes sir."

"Uh, of course."

Walking down the hill, Wilhelm couldn't help but grimace at the landscape. Tiberium had thoroughly ravaged the region, mutating the plant life and reshaping the terrain. He set foot on the veins, testing for a reaction. When nothing happened, Wilhelm went on. The medic did the same and followed close behind. While infantry usually weren't heavy enough to trigger a reaction, both men moved carefully. Neither had any intention of being this thing's next meal.

"You ever see that old movie Star Wars, private?" Wilhelm asked.

"Uh, yes sir, I have, actually."

"Don't these things remind you of that pit in the third one?"

"Indeed they do, sir."

Wilhelm suddenly raised his hand, silencing the medic. He dropped to his knees and pulled out his binoculars.

"What the bloody hell?"

Peering through, Wilhelm made out a group of humans gathered around a Veinhole mouth. They seemed to be prostrating themselves before it, with some guy reading from something.

"Colonel, are you seeing this?" Wilhelm asked.

"I see it. Those are likely the cultists. They've been openly hostile the few times GDI forces have encountered them. They're likely to try and stop you, so it's best to avoid them."

"They're kind of praying around the mouth I'm supposed to blow up," Wilhelm pointed out.

A few seconds went by, as if Granger was considering his options. When he spoke, his voice was resolute.

"Use a laser designator to tag the mouth and have the Juggernaut fire on it. Its first round will be armor piercing. We'll give them time to scatter. Once they do, the Juggernaut will switch to high explosive rounds."

"Understood."

Despite these people being possibly dangerous, Granger wasn't willing to shed their blood. Granger obviously held himself to the same high standard most of the old UN GDI officers adhered to. Lying on his stomach, Wilhelm took aim with his rifle and zoomed in on the mouth. His laser, in combination would a UAV, would provide the target data the shell would need. Off in the distance, a thud sounded as the Juggernaut opened fire. Through his scope, Wilhelm had a perfect view of the shell landing and knocking back the cultists. They scrambled away as best they could as the round drilled into the mouth. At least one had been standing too close and was down for good even before the mouth began releasing its gas.

"Anyone getting out of there is gone," Wilhelm reported.

The response was several more thuds as the Juggernaut let loose. Subsequent explosions could be felt in the ground as fireballs blossomed into the sky. Any cultist still standing around were now scrambling to get away. Wilhelm could clearly make out puffs of Tiberium gas being blown out by the mouth, though thankfully they were being dissipated by each explosion. After a minute, the Juggernaut ceased firing.

"Target is destroyed," Granger said, "but the UAVs are registering a second mouth."

"Bloody hell," Wilhelm muttered. "Where?"

"Southwest of the one we just took out. But be careful, it looks like the cultists are arming themselves."

"Permission to hit them with artillery, providing I can get a good target resolution?"

"Permission granted," Granger said without hesitation.

Scanning the area, Wilhelm saw the approaching shapes. They were still a ways off and he didn't intend to let them get close enough to take potshots at him or the medic. He took aim and tagged a cultist in the middle of the crowd.

"Target marked."

A few more thumps and a line of fire smashed through the encroaching mob. Wilhelm kept his sights straight even though the carnage was stomach wrenching to watch. He could actually see limbs being blown off and people on fire. When the final bodies fell, Wilhelm closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Killing from a distance should have felt impersonal. This sure as hell felt personal.

"No further cultists in the area," Granger said over the radio. "But even after we take out that other mouth, it's going to take some time for the veins to wither enough for the Juggernaut to move over safely."

"Like a few hours," Wilhelm muttered.

"It can't be helped," said Granger. "However, I'll need you to continue scouting the area. Stay within range of the Juggernaut though."

"That shouldn't be too hard, considering the Juggernaut is an artillery unit."

"Unfortunately, the Juggernaut's targeting system still has some glitches, so its range is not where it should be," Granger informed him. "Your HUD will notify you if you're moving out of support range."

"Right."

Adjusting his helmet, Wilhelm marched on with the private in tow. There was still that second mouth to take care of. Finding it proved fairly easy and this time no cultists were gathered around. The artillery strike was as devastating as it was swift. Patches of bare ground were even visible where the shells had blasted away the vines. Still, Wilhelm stayed back to let any residual gas dissipate. He may be a Shiner, but even they couldn't breathe in that toxin without suffering some rather nasty effects.

"Any other signs of trouble?" Wilhelm asked.

"Nothing so far. We're not seeing any movement towards you, though the ion activity is playing hell with the drones."

"They're not affecting the targeting system, right? I'd rather not have shells start dropping on me."

"Why do you think we're having you verify the targets?"

Wilhelm gritted his teeth. That was certainly not encouraging. Then again, the Juggernaut was the only real tactical support he had. It certainly did a number on those psychos worshiping Tiberium. Why they weren't part of the Brotherhood was beyond him. Once he was sure it was safe, Wilhelm proceeded deeper into the field. The vines were quickly losing their tension and sank under his boots. It felt like walking on sand, a sensation Wilhelm didn't enjoy. He did not need the ground sliding out under him when he was trying to keep his ass from getting shot. Thus it was with some relief the vine field finally came to an end. Scanning the area, Wilhelm could see nothing else about.

The hike continued on uneventfully until they came upon a small lake. Wilhelm signaled but the medic was already on his stomach. The private knew his job well. A medic was supposed to avoid combat not because he was necessarily bad at fighting, but because if he was dead, there would be no one to look after the rest of the team. Thus it was his job to stay alive, not be a gun-totting hero. That was Wilhelm's job, after all.

Peering through the scope, Wilhelm surveyed the encampment. There was definitely activity there, though none of the people looked to be well armed.

"Colonel, you seeing this?"

"Yeah. Bypass that encampment. They don't look like they want a fight and according to our maps, there are no temples in that direction."

"Alright."

Staying low, Wilhelm moved southward towards a set of hills. According to his HUD, that's where the closest pyramid should be. Instinct told him the cultist would likely have another settlement around it. These people were extremely deluded and who knew how they regarded the pyramids. They certainly wouldn't welcome an outsider like him wandering through it. The closer he got, the more Wilhelm saw signs of habitation.

"Colonel, do you have a visual of the pyramid?" Wilhelm asked.

"Yes. It looks like we won't be able to avoid a fight."

"If you don't mind, I'd rather have the Juggernaut take them out. It in range to do so?"

A pause. "At the edge of it, but it should be able to hit."

"Right."

Tagging targets like this was both impersonal and haunting. True, these people were opposed to GDI, but Wilhelm didn't even know them. This felt more and more like a massacre, though these people were likely to start shooting at him the moment he gave them the chance. Sometimes people died so you could live. To try and change it alone was liable to get yourself killed in the process.

The sound of explosions forced Wilhelm to concentrate at the task at hand. He definitely didn't want to be distracted while directing flying death on other people's heads.

"Wilhelm," the radio suddenly cracked. "That settlement you saw across the lake? We're picking up activity. I'm reading a large group headed your way."

"Armed?"

"Looks like it, but they only seem to have light personal weapons. Image analysis can't even see any rifles amongst them."

"So in theory I have the advantage."

"Not much of one. The mob is moving towards you but they're out of range for the Juggernaut. You'd have to let them get fairly close to your current position to receive any support."

"Which I have no intention of doing," said Wilhelm. "How's the bombardment coming along?"

"Most of the cultists have scattered or are dead."

"Then I should be able to take out this mob myself," said Wilhelm.

Another pause. "That railgun of yours isn't exactly suited to engaging large numbers of infantry."

"Good thing I brought a few more toys along then."

"Very well. Just try to avoid being overrun. I'll finish cleaning out the area around the pyramid."

"Roger. Private, with me."

"Yes sir."

While the Juggernaut continued to rain death, Wilhelm started north once more. His HUD magnified the terrain and pointed out the approaching cultists.

"Damn this would have been handy when I was a private," Wilhelm muttered.

Besides providing tactical updates, the HUD could also interface with certain weapons. While the railgun wasn't originally equipped for this, Wilhelm had been given a scope that could. He took aim and the display zoomed in. Aiming the railgun used to be a fairly difficult thing, which forced Ghost Stalkers to get in close. With the scope, the range of the railgun could finally be put to proper use. Squeezing the trigger, Wilhelm watched as his target fell back from the impact. Blood splattered from the wound but the hit was already fatal. He quickly shifted to the next target and let loose the moment the railgun had reloaded. Repeating this, Wilhelm dropped every approaching cultist before they could get any potshots at him. He'd undergone basic sniper training in the past, but never felt comfortable as a hunter of men.

"Colonel, threat neutralized. You got that pyramid cleared out?"

After a few seconds, the hiss of static answered him. Frowning, Wilhelm tried again.

"Colonel Granger, I repeat, do you have the pyramid cleared?"

"Sir!"

Looking around, Wilhelm saw the private with his sidearm drawn, pointing at several people charging at them. The medic opened fire but their attackers weren't deterred. Wilhelm swung his rifle around and opened fire, blowing apart the lead assailant. Another staggered as the private managed a hit, but remained standing and fired back. Emerson dove aside as bullets peppered his former position. Wilhelm took aim again and dropped another cultist, but the railgun was taking too long to recharge.

"Fire in the hole!" Wilhelm shouted.

Popping a grenade, Wilhelm chucked it and dove for cover himself. A second later, an explosion shook the ground and took out to more attackers. The private had resumed firing and taken out another and one final shot from the railgun finished it off. Rising slightly, Wilhelm looked around to see if anyone had survived to make trouble. After half a minute and no movement, Wilhelm stood and approached the bodies. He nudged those that were still intact but none offered any response. Finally sure the cultists were down for good, he signaled for Emerson to come forward.

The radio hissed again but this time Granger's voice was clearly audible. "Wilhelm, do you read me?"

"Loud but not clear, Colonel," Wilhelm replied. "What happened?"

"A bolt of lightning nearly struck us and shorted the relay," Granger replied. "I tried to warn you but couldn't get through."

"Well, Private Emerson did a good job of watching my ass, so we're okay here. Is the pyramid finally cleared?"

"Yes. But we estimate it'll be another hour before a path through the Veins allows the Juggernaut to pass. You'll have to rough it out until it can move in with the doctor."

Wilhelm muttered but he really didn't have a choice in the matter. The two walked over to the pyramid itself and Wilhelm took the time to look around. There were surprisingly few bodies about, but in this climate they would start to stink something awful in no time. As such, Wilhelm headed for the entrance into the temple. Besides providing shade, it might offer some protection against the odor. Emerson followed, quickly figuring out what Wilhelm was thinking. For the next hour, Wilhelm went between being pestered by Ibenez to relay images from the temple to shooting the breeze with Emerson to just lounging around. When the Juggernaut finally arrived, he momentarily forgot why he was inside the temple and walked out to greet them. A gust of wind immediately made him regret it.

Wilhelm nearly threw up as the stink hit him but controlled the urge. He wasted no time getting away from the area and stayed well away as Ibenez began his survey. While the archaeologist was initially overcome by the smell, he wasted little time in examining the pyramid. Though he quickly ascertained this one wasn't likely to contain the Tacitus, he still wanted to take a closer look. Wilhelm immediately dragged him back out. There were still two more pyramids to check out and the staying too long in this area was definitely not healthy for Emerson or Ibenez.

The next part of the trek did not look encouraging. Wilhelm looked at the field of blue Tiberium before him and swallowed nervously. The only good news was a path of green slush that ran through the field, but walking on it would not be easy. Just as he took a step, the radio crackled.

"Wilhelm, there's movement ahead of you. We think it's a Tiberium creature of some sort, as we can't get a clear reading of it in the field."

"Acknowledged."

Creeping forward, it didn't take long for Wilhelm to catch sight of the creature. It was a fiend, a large dog-like Tiberium creature. He'd seen and handled them before and the animals could be quite friendly. However, this one looked to be quite feral. Rifle at the ready, Wilhelm advanced cautiously. Before he could even get close, the crystals on the fiend's back flared and it growled at him. Suddenly the thing launched itself and charged at Wilhelm. Instinctively, Wilhelm squeezed the trigger and a round slammed into the fiend. Its head was blown off by the impact and the creature crashed into the Tiberium, smashing the crystals. Wilhelm felt his heart skip a beat as he froze, praying that the force wasn't enough to detonate the crystals. The last thing he needed was to have a field of blue Tiberium blow up while he was standing in it. When he was reasonably sure nothing was going to explode, Wilhelm ventured forth. Following the slushy path took him to another field, but this one was at least full of green crystals. But that didn't end all his trouble.

"Colonel, we've got more cultists, and I think three fiends."

"Can you tag them?"

Wilhelm considered the proposal. "Negative. They're standing in the middle of a Tiberium field. While it's a green field, I'd prefer to avoid using explosives so close to blue crystals."

"Understood. Do you intend to take them all out?"

"I don't really have much of a choice. The cultists aren't too much of a problem, but those fiends can tear that Juggernaut to shreds, nevermind me."

"The fiends seem to be lined up," Granger informed him. "If you can hit them from the right angle, you might be able to take out all of them in one hit. But you'll need to get in closer."

"Understood."

Fiends had thick hides, meaning they could take a tank round and survive. While a shot from his railgun would probably go through all three, he needed his first shot to be fatal. His green outfit allowed him to blend in with the crystals and get closer. The humans didn't notice him, but it was only a matter of time before the fiends caught his scent. Suddenly, one of the fiends turned its head towards him. A low growl sounded and the others began to rise. Wilhelm immediately took aim and fired. The round struck the first fiend, knocking it into the one on its right. The second fiend let out a roar as the round struck it too. Both collapsed as their organs began spilling out. However, the third remained standing despite its wound. Somehow the round had failed to go all the way through and the creature could still move. It cried out in pain before lashing out at those around it. Crystal shards impaled those too close, but others were already turning their attention to him. Wilhelm fired again, putting down the last fiend for good.

At this range, he still had some time before the cultists could get a shot. It gave his railgun enough time for one more shot before small arms fire began popping around him. The cultists were terrible shots, but with enough of them, one would eventually get a hit. Wilhelm pulled out his own pistol and opened fire. His shots were on the mark and another cultist fell. Another round from the railgun followed but Wilhelm was outnumbered and outgunned. Suddenly one of the attackers fell, followed quickly by his partner. From behind, he could see Emerson letting loose. Apparently the private could be a hero and a medic at the same time. Wilhelm dropped the last of the attackers and a silence settled on the battlefield. Blood was splattered across the crystals and soaking into the ground. It was likely these corpses would give birth to visceroids, but that would take some time. They should be gone by then.

The Juggernaut was using the same path Wilhelm had and stepped onto the green crystals. It easily crushed them but Wilhelm's attention was on the pyramid close by. He hadn't noticed it while trying to engage the fiends, but there it was. The team quickly headed over. Once Wilhelm was sure there was no one around, he let Ibenez examine it more closely. His primary concern now was the blue field that was in their way. If this temple didn't hold the Tacitus, they'd need to cross it to reach the third candidate. However, there was no convenient path this time. Wilhelm was not keen on tempting fate by walking through a field of basically explosives.

"The temple of thunder," Ibenez said over the radio. "Are you sure we're in the right place, Commander?"

"We still have one more temple to check out, doctor," Wilhelm replied. "From past experience, it's always the last place you check that has what you want."

Before Ibenez could reply, a bolt of lighting struck the field. Everyone staggered back and Wilhelm and Emerson bolted for the pyramid.

"Wilhelm, get under cover," Granger shouted over the radio. "We're detecting localized ion activity around the temple."

"Lieutenant, get your men out of the Juggernaut!" Wilhelm ordered. "And deactivate all electronics in it! They won't survive an ion strike!"

"Roger!"

The Juggernaut knelt down and doors popped open. The four crewmen quickly ran over to the pyramid, joining the rest of the team inside. Outside, explosions could be heard as the blue Tiberium underwent a chain reaction.

"I hope you parked the Juggernaut away from the field," Wilhelm said.

"Of course sir," the lieutenant answered, panting from the run.

Wilhelm peered outside and watched the serious of detonations spread across the field. It was quite a sight, almost like fireworks. The worst of it was over in a matter of minutes, but lingering patches continued to explode for the next half hour. Still, they couldn't be completely sure it was safe. Wilhelm ventured forth, scanning the area. Smokey craters peppered the landscape. Wilhelm had heard stories about entire formations being lost because they were caught on a blue Tiberium field when it blew. Seeing this was all the proof he needed.

"Wilhelm?"

"Colonel?"

"The storm seems to have passed. From our readings, the entire field has been detonated. You can proceed."

"Very well."

"But be careful. There seems to be another Vein field ahead, and we think the cult's main settlement is around the last pyramid."

"Scheisse. Is any part of this mission going to be easy?"

"If it were, I doubt we'd have asked for your services."

Grumbling, Wilhelm marched on. The Juggernaut crew was already busy restarting the machine and would catch up once they were ready. Emerson was doing a good job watching Wilhelm's back and he was perfectly fine going on with just the medic. It didn't take long to come across the Vein field Granger had warned them about. Fortunately, this field was small and would recede quickly once the mouth was taken care of. The procedure was almost routine by now. Wilhelm tagged the hole, a bombardment took it out, and he waited a few minutes for the gas to dissipate. When he began climbing the next hill, a hail f bullets blasted the ground around him. Wilhelm immediately fell back, scanning for the attacker. Information from the UAVs was quickly correlated and the HUD marked the shooter's position.

"What the hell did they shoot!?" Wilhelm barked over the radio.

"Looks like a chain gun of sorts," Granger answered. "Would explain why they had so much trouble aiming."

"These people are bloody nuts. Any advice?"

"I'm feeding the Juggernaut the shooter's position. Sit tight."

Another burst of bullets chipped away at the rock Wilhelm was hiding behind. Even if these people were insane, they did seem to have some decent weaponry. However, unless they were also hoarding artillery, Wilhelm still had the edge. A series of explosions cut off the chaingun fire, letting Wilhelm peek out. He could make out a severed arm, but it didn't look like anyone would be able to find the rest of the body.

With another obstacle out of the way, Wilhelm went on. At the top of the hill he could see a primitive dirt road, presumably leading towards the pyramid. It didn't take long to run into the next guard, but this time Wilhelm had the element of surprise. The cultist's shoulder was torn to shreds when the round struck him, but somehow he managed to stay standing. He turned around and let loose, but the chaingun was a difficult thing to aim even with two arms. Bullets whizzed about randomly and one slashed across Wilhelm's arm. The round hadn't hit, but even the miss was enough to break his skin. Wilhelm promptly fired again, blowing off the cultist's head. That put him down for good.

Emerson immediately came forward and bandaged the wound. The private was as efficient a healer as he was with a pistol. Wilhelm would have to recommend he get a raise or something after this. The medic certainly deserved it for coming to this hellhole. Once that was taken care of, the two continued advancing. Looking down at the corpse, Wilhelm saw patches of crystallized skin. He grimaced. The guard had been a mutant, not surprising considering the conditions here. It shouldn't have mattered, but Wilhelm found himself more torn over shooting a fellow mutant than in gunning down all the other cultists. Setting that aside, he forced himself onwards.

It wasn't long before they were in view of the cultist settlement. From their vantage point, the two could make out quite a bit. The first thing that became evident was the fact that they would not be able to charge in there, guns blazing. Sniping from afar was also unlikely to work and even with the Juggernaut, it would be dicey. Wilhelm was officially out of ideas, and he told Granger so.

"I'm considering my options. Just don't get sighted and we should be able to deal with this."

"You do realize we've already killed god knows how many of them?"

"Yes, but the settlement doesn't seem to be preparing for a fight. If we can surprise them, we might stand a chance."

Wilhelm didn't bother voicing his doubts. Granger either had something up his sleeve or was incredibly confident in Wilhelm's abilities. For now, all he could do was wait and see. That wait turned out to take almost half an hour. When the radio crackled to life, Wilhelm was so bored he nearly jumped at the noise.

"The second Juggernaut unit has landed," Granger announced. "It'll be in range momentarily and we can initiate a strategic bombardment."

"Clever," Wilhelm said. "Where's this Juggernaut going to be?"

"On the other side of the settlement," Granger replied.

"Uh, excuse me?"

"I'm well aware of the fact you can't provide it any support, but hopefully we can divert them from fleeing that way."

"And make them come this way?"

"Of course."

Wilhelm muttered something, but not even Emerson could make out what. He raised his rifle and took aim.

"Colonel," Wilhelm suddenly began. "Make sure GDI finishes its R&D on an automatic railgun so we can copy it."

A chuckle answered him. "I'll see what I can do. Alright, bombardment is commencing."

Wilhelm hardly needed Granger's notification. A thrill announced incoming shells and fire soon swept through the settlement. The first salvo was centered around the northern side, blocking off that exit. The second salvo immediately followed, this time deeper int the settlement but still on the northern side. The sequence was designed to rain destruction systematically, driving the cultists south and away from the unprotected Juggernaut. Wilhelm didn't bother wasting any time and began picking off cultists. He first went after those closest and alone, but quickly noticed several which seemed to be issuing orders. The next round went to the most exposed. At that point, the cultists began to figure out they were under attack from two directions. They began scattering, though no one seemed to know where the attacks were coming from.

At the edge of his range, Wilhelm caught sight of an ornately dressed man. His movements were empathic and other cultists seemed to be obeying him. That was as good as any other target, Wilhelm decided, and took him out. What followed next was almost surreal. For a moment, the camp seemed to freeze even as more explosions rocked the structures. People who were seconds ago fleeing for their lives suddenly came to a screeching halt, oblivious of the death raining down on them. Plenty more were killed as they didn't even try to dodge the explosions.

Suddenly all of them charged forward towards the corpse and seemed to prostrate themselves over it.

"Colonel, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Yes, and it's providing us with an opportunity," Granger said. "May God forgive us."

The same thought, and prayer, had flashed though Wilhelm's mind. What they were about to do was nothing short of mass slaughter. What came next was hard to describe with words and Wilhelm wasn't inclined to try. He forced himself to watch only to make sure there were no survivors. Those caught in the barrage but not killed would likely welcome a final mercy. Fortunately, it looked like he'd be spared from providing it. The cultists had been unflinching in following their leader into death and the Juggernauts had been brutally efficient in granting that wish.

"Colonel, looks all clear," Wilhelm said. "UAVs picking up any activity?"

"Nothing noticeable," Granger replied. "Let's see if this pyramid has what we want and get out of here."

"No argument here."

This time even Dr. Ibenez couldn't ignore the carnage. Broken bodies, raging fires, and wreckage dotted the encampment. The Juggernauts had been careful to avoid damaging the pyramid itself, but they still had to walk through the destruction to get to it. Wilhelm didn't have to rush Ibenez as the doctor quickly located their objective inside the temple and demanded to be evacuated immediately. Granger didn't even bother having Wilhelm take out the last Vein field in their way. The Juggernaut lumbered through and got out quickly, avoiding any serious damage. It wasn't until they were in the air that Wilhelm let out a sigh of relief.

"Colonel," he said, "do not expect to ever convince me to come back to this shithole."

"You and me both, Commander," Granger replied.

With his part done, Wilhelm was on his way back to Europe. The flight gave him the time to sleep so he was well rested when they finally landed. With the second segment of the Tacitus in GDI hands, Wilhelm intended to get back to rebuilding his life. Something told him it wouldn't be easy. Ion activity in the upper atmosphere seemed to be intensifying, as if foreshadowing future trials. The world was most certainly not at peace right now, and one could only guess when the storm would pass.

End of Chapter 16

This chapter has definitely been the wordiest I've done. I could have gone on but I think I'll leave the rest for the epilogue.

Z98


	17. Epilogue Alpha

There are two versions of the epilogue. This one is designed to be more consistent with the current canon of C&C, even if EA screwed it up. Also, this one is much shorter compared to the epilogue that sets possible future sequels. The two share a similar opening but whereas this ends fairly quickly, the other epilogue goes on for a bit. I'll put up the alternative epilogue when I finish the second half of it.

Epilogue: All Good Things

The last month had been absolute hell for Wilhelm. The mission to retrieve the second Tacitus segment should have freed him from having to worry about anything else except Grace's recovery. Instead, the world was set ablaze when CABAL decided to go rogue and try to exterminate the entire human race. There were even rumors CABAL had turned on Nod. His life was starting to feel like a really cheesy movie, or maybe a bad video game. Either way, it meant he was back on the frontlines trying to keep his people from being culled. He hadn't had a chance to say 'I told you so' to General Langley yet, if only because the good general was as busy as Wilhelm in trying to save the world.

The only moment of rest he had was at the small and private ceremony for those killed in Tratos' assassination. People like Grace's son. Hell, his son. It didn't matter if he wasn't the biological father, he was Grace's husband and that meant he shouldered the responsibility of fatherhood. Fastred had actually demanded to lead the service, gaining at least the courtesy of the other mutants. The rest of his family had also wanted to come, but getting security clearance for his father had been difficult enough. GDI was getting paranoid these days, after everything that had happened. With the Philadelphia and all orbital satellites out of contact, GDI couldn't even use their Ion Cannons. That limitation was really hurting GDI now.

However, those were GDI's problems. The Forgotten had their own issues right now. With CABAL actively targeting civilian populations, the war had taken a very ugly turn. Mass evacuations were being undertaken across the globe by GDI and Nod. The Forgotten was following suit, with each regional leader coordinating the moves of whatever settlement they were responsible for. Thus Wilhelm found himself back in Germany, organizing a medium sized settlement for evacuation. Being in the mountains granted at least some protection from Tiberium, as the cold seemed to slow the growth. It provided a balance of sorts. Enough Tiberium to fuel the local economy and they could even harvest it fast enough to keep it contained. This settlement even had their own Tiberium refinery and likely would have prospered as much was possible for mutants had not all this shit hit. However, there were at least three other human settlements nearby and even a small city up north. That made it a very likely target for CABAL's culling and he needed to get these people out of here. He'd let GDI handle the other civilian settlements.

The evacuation was going well for a change, though there were more and more sightings of cyborgs. None had yet dared approach the settlement but it was only a matter of time. Most of the non-combatants were already gone the day an unexpected guest arrived. Wilhelm was busy helping load some medical supplies when one of his troops called for him. When given the binoculars, he saw a man in GDI combat dress running towards them with two cyborgs giving chase. The choice was easy to make. Wilhelm grabbed his railgun and led a small group to try and save the stranger. It didn't take long to intercept the GDI soldier, but taking down two cyborgs would be somewhat tricky. If he was lucky, his shot would take out the thing's head. However, that was unlikely to happen.

The GDI soldier saw them and hurried to join them. Wilhelm signaled for him to get down and let off a round. The shot slammed into the cyborg's chest, blowing a hole through the armor. A greenish liquid leaked from the wound and sparks flew. The cyborg staggered from the blow but wasn't down yet. These things were obscenely tough. Another mutant fired a rocket at the wounded cyborg, blowing off an arm. Yet the damn thing still came. Rifle fire chewed away at it but it took another railgun round to deliver the coup de grace. Of course, they now had to deal with the second cyborg. The GDI soldier suddenly opened fire, hitting the knee of the second cyborg. It fell forward just as another rocket flew at it and smashed into the head. Not even a cyborg could withstand that and the thing collapsed, decapitated. With the momentary reprieve, the GDI soldier walked over to them. When his visor turned transparent, Wilhelm blinked in surprise.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you again so soon, Commander Feydrich," the man said with a grin.

"Colonel Granger," Wilhelm greeted. "I see you've managed to survive as well, though I never would have imagined you going about on foot."

Granger grunted. "I may be older than you, but I can probably outrun all of ya. But there's a reason I'm here. CABAL is harvesting biological components for his cyborgs. We have reason to believe he's targeting Colony Six, Tranhein City. I've been assigned to warn the civilians around here and also try and stop him."

An eyebrow rose. "Isn't there a GDI base around here?"

"There was. CABAL took it out about an hour ago. It seems he's here in force."

Behind Wilhelm, the other mutants began muttering. If that was true, they were out of time.

"Let's get back to the settlement," Wilhelm said. "We're right by the bridge that leads north up to Tranheim."

"Very well."

The group wasted little time returning. When Wilhelm informed the rest of his men what was coming, they quickly wrapped things up.

"Get everyone who's leaving into the Harvester!" Wilhelm ordered. "Colonel, you'll likely need to reestablish a base if you want to take out CABAL's forces. Let my men and the Harvestor follow you. After the civilians are safe, you can use the Harvester."

Granger looked around and nodded. "Sounds good. The more people we save, the fewer cyborgs CABAL can throw at us."

"Elijah, you take point," Wilhelm ordered. "Take the troops with you but leave me at least fifteen men."

"What about you?"

"We're going to booby trap this place," Wilhelm said, "try and slow down anything chasing us."

For a moment Elijah looked like he wanted to rebel, but Wilhelm's look suggested that would have been futile. Finally nodding, Elijah began barking orders. While Elijah hadn't voiced any protests, Granger was another matter.

"You really don't need to stay here," Granger said. "I'm fairly sure we can all get to Tranhein."

"Sometimes you want guarantees, Colonel," Wilhelm said. "I've seen too many of my fellow mutants die at the hands of Nod. I'll be damned if I let more become cyborg puppets."

"You don't have to prove anything."

Wilhelm snorted. "Of course I don't. But I still have a job to do, and I intend to do it."

"I see. Well, in that case Commander, I expect you to be rolling into Tranheim before the cyborgs. After the battle, I intend to take you out for a drink."

"Now we're talking," said Wilhelm. "So long as it's beer, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Granger patted Wilhelm on the shoulder. "Neither would I, son."

The word 'son' caught Wilhelm off guard at first. As he reflected on it, Granger really was a lot older than him. Yet he didn't feel young anymore. Living out here as one of the Forgotten had aged him. While Tiberium had done it to him physically, being with these people forced him to mature mentally. It was a fair tradeoff, as far as he was concerned.

"Wilhelm, we're ready to go," Elijah said.

Wilhelm nodded. "Until that drink, Colonel."

The mutants didn't bother to wait for everyone to clear out as they began setting traps. They hadn't brought much, but a few well placed charges at likely points of entry would at least distract the cyborgs. Once the evacuees were over the bridge, Wilhelm began planting the rest of his C4 on it. This would definitely slow down the cyborgs. The team had just finished when a cry alerted them. Gunfire soon followed but a series of explosions cut it off. Apparently the first set of traps had been tripped. Then, through the smoke, a Tick Tank appeared. Then another. And another. CABAL wasn't going to rely on just cyborgs to suppress resistance. They opened fire, blowing apart the modules and other buildings. The mutants quickly made a run for the bridge. If they could get some of the tanks to follow, they'd at least weaken the pursuers. Wilhelm took aim and fired, blowing apart the lead tank. The others finally took notice and plowed after him. He didn't bother trying to stop the others and made a break for it. The tanks didn't seem to be in any hurry, even taking the time to blow a few more buildings. Once on the other side, he triggered the detonator and watched as the bridge supports blew out. The explosions rocked the structure, slamming the tanks into one another. Slowly, the bridge buckled and began falling. It smashed through the ice and the tanks quickly sank under their own weight. At least five had been on the bridge but Wilhelm could make out eight more on the other side. They needed to get out of here and fast.

Before anyone could move, the ground started shaking beneath them. Suddenly, dirt and ice erupted and rained down on them as something burst out from underground.

"APC!" Wilhelm shouted.

He tried to take aim but the debris wasn't giving him a chance to stay steady. The APC landed with a thud, driving forward right into one of the mutants. His cry was cut off as the drill struck him and ground him underneath the vehicle.

"Jadel!"

Wilhelm finally got a clear shot and let loose. The round shredded the drill and blew through the APC but didn't destroy it. Hatches on its side popped open and cyborgs climbed out. They opened fire immediately, nailing three more of Wilhelm's men. Another threw a grenade but ended up exposing himself to more chaingun fire. His body was cut to pieces and blood stained the snow around him. The explosion seemed to distract the cyborgs and Wilhelm took aim, blowing off a head. However, this fight was not in their favor. Forgotten soldiers were well armed but had poor body armor. In close combat with cyborgs, they didn't stand a chance. Another APC suddenly burst forth and offloaded even more of the monstrosities. Wilhelm ground his teeth but refused to back down. He took aim, his next round going through two cyborgs. Though they still stood, the gaping holes in their chests would at least slow them down.

A blast of heat suddenly washed over Wilhelm. He felt his clothes light on fire and dropped to the ground, trying to extinguish them. Before he knew it, a metal arm slammed into his face. The salty taste of blood was in his mouth but he couldn't move his head to look around. Burns covered his body but the cold snow quickly numbed the pain. Scrambling, Wilhelm grabbed hold of his railgun and rolled over. The move saved him, at least for now, as another greenish blob splashed over the ground, nearly glassing the surface. Looking up, Wilhelm saw the cold gaze of a cyborg commando taking aim. With sheer will, Wilhelm brought up the railgun and fired. The last solid image he could make out was that of Grace, waiting for him to come home.

End


	18. Epilogue Omega

I swear, you people don't read my author's notes or something. I said there were TWO versions of the epilogue. One in which Wilhelm more or less had to die because he obviously is a product of my creation and doesn't have any further role to play in the C&C universe canon wise, and one in which there is the possibility that I can use him in the future, which I intend to. The beginning repeats most of what happened in the previous epilogue, but I've made some corrections and tweaked the actual fight.

A warning. What happens to Wilhelm in this chapter can get a tad extreme. Once you get to the messy part, skip to the section that's started by GDI Daedalus Secondary Research Complex if you have a weak stomach but still want to know how this story ends.

Epilogue: Hell's Baptism

The last month had been absolute hell for Wilhelm. The mission to retrieve the second Tacitus segment should have freed him from having to worry about anything else except Grace's recovery. Instead, the world was set ablaze when CABAL decided to go rogue and try to exterminate the entire human race. There were even rumors CABAL had turned on Nod. His life was starting to feel like a really cheesy movie, or maybe a bad video game. Either way, it meant he was back on the frontlines trying to keep his people from being culled. He hadn't had a chance to say 'I told you so' to General Langley yet, if only because the good general was as busy as Wilhelm in trying to save the world.

The only moment of rest he had was at the small and private ceremony for those killed in Tratos' assassination. People like Grace's son. Hell, his son. It didn't matter if he wasn't the biological father, he was Grace's husband and that meant he shouldered the responsibility of fatherhood. Fastred actually demanded to lead the service, gaining at least the courtesy of the other mutants. The rest of his family also wanted to come, but getting security clearance for his father had been difficult enough. GDI was getting paranoid these days, after everything that had happened. With the Philadelphia and all orbital satellites out of contact, GDI couldn't even use their Ion Cannons. That limitation was really hurting them now.

However, those were GDI's problems. The Forgotten had their own issues right now. With CABAL actively targeting civilian populations, the war was taking a very ugly turn. Mass evacuations were being undertaken across the globe by GDI and Nod. The Forgotten was following suit, with each regional leader coordinating the moves of whatever settlement they were responsible for. Thus Wilhelm found himself back in Germany, organizing a medium sized settlement for evacuation. Being in the mountains granted at least some protection from Tiberium, as the cold seemed to slow the growth. It provided a balance of sorts. Enough Tiberium to fuel the local economy and they could even harvest it fast enough to keep it contained. This settlement even had their own Tiberium refinery and likely would have prospered as much was possible for mutants had not all this shit hit. However, there were at least three other human settlements nearby and even a small city up north. That made it a very likely target for CABAL's culling and he needed to get these people out of here. He'd let GDI handle the other civilian settlements.

The evacuation was going well for a change, though there were more and more sightings of cyborgs. None had yet dared approach the settlement but it was only a matter of time. Most of the non-combatants were already gone the day an unexpected guest arrived. Wilhelm was busy helping load some medical supplies when one of his troops called for him. When given the binoculars, he saw a man in GDI combat dress running towards them with two cyborgs giving chase. The choice was easy to make. Wilhelm grabbed his railgun and led a small group to try and save the stranger. It didn't take long to intercept the GDI soldier, but taking down two cyborgs would be somewhat tricky. If he was lucky, his shot would take out the thing's head. Wilhelm didn't really believe in luck anymore.

The GDI soldier veered towards them once he noticed the mutants. Wilhelm signaled for him to get down and let off a round. The shot slammed into the cyborg's chest, blowing a hole through the armor. A greenish liquid leaked from the wound and sparks flew. The cyborg staggered from the blow but wasn't down yet. These things were obscenely tough. Another mutant fired a rocket at the wounded cyborg, blowing off an arm. Yet the damn thing still came. Rifle fire chewed away at it but it took another railgun round to deliver the coup de grace. Of course, they now had to deal with the second cyborg. The GDI soldier suddenly opened fire, hitting the knee of the second cyborg. It fell forward just as another rocket flew at it and smashed into the head. Not even a cyborg could withstand that and the thing collapsed, decapitated. With the momentary reprieve, the GDI soldier walked over to them. When his visor turned transparent, Wilhelm blinked in surprise.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you again so soon, Commander Feydrich," the man said with a grin.

"Colonel Granger," Wilhelm greeted. "I see you've managed to survive as well, though I never would have imagined you going about on foot."

Granger grunted. "I may be older than you, but I can probably outrun all of ya. But there's a reason I'm here. CABAL is harvesting biological components for his cyborgs. We have reason to believe he's targeting Colony Six, Tranhein City. I've been assigned to warn the civilians around here and also try and stop him."

An eyebrow rose. "Isn't there a GDI base around here?"

"There was. CABAL took it out about an hour ago. It seems he's here in force."

Behind Wilhelm, the other mutants began muttering. If that was true, they were out of time.

"Let's get back to the settlement," Wilhelm said. "We're right by the bridge that leads north up to Tranheim."

"Very well."

The group wasted little time returning. When Wilhelm informed the rest of his men what was coming, they quickly wrapped things up.

"Get everyone who's leaving into the Harvester!" Wilhelm ordered. "Colonel, you'll likely need to reestablish a base if you want to take out CABAL's forces. Let my men and the Harvestor follow you. After the civilians are safe, you can use the Harvester."

Granger looked around and nodded. "Sounds good. The more people we save, the fewer cyborgs CABAL can throw at us."

"Elijah, you take point," Wilhelm ordered. "Take the troops with you but leave me at least fifteen men."

"What about you?"

"We're going to booby trap this place," Wilhelm said, "try and slow down anything chasing us."

For a moment Elijah looked like he wanted to rebel, but Wilhelm's look suggested that would have been futile. Finally nodding, Elijah began barking orders. While Elijah hadn't voiced any protests, Granger was another matter.

"You really don't need to stay here," Granger said. "I'm fairly sure we can all get to Tranhein."

"Sometimes you want guarantees, Colonel," Wilhelm said. "I've seen too many of my fellow mutants die at the hands of Nod. I'll be damned if I let more become cyborg puppets."

"You don't have to prove anything."

Wilhelm snorted. "Of course I don't. But I still have a job to do, and I intend to do it."

"I see. Well, in that case Commander, I expect you to be rolling into Tranheim before the cyborgs. After the battle, I intend to take you out for a drink."

"Now we're talking," said Wilhelm. "So long as it's beer, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Granger patted Wilhelm on the shoulder. "Neither would I, son."

The word 'son' caught Wilhelm off guard at first. As he reflected on it, Granger really was a lot older than him. Yet he didn't feel young anymore. Living out here as one of the Forgotten had aged him. While Tiberium had done it to him physically, being with these people forced him to mature mentally. It was a fair tradeoff, as far as he was concerned.

"Wilhelm, we're ready to go," Elijah said.

Wilhelm nodded. "Until that drink, Colonel."

The mutants didn't bother to wait for everyone to clear out as they began setting traps. They hadn't brought much, but a few well placed charges at likely points of entry would at least distract the cyborgs. Once the evacuees were over the bridge, Wilhelm began planting the rest of his C4 on it. This would definitely slow down the cyborgs. The team had just finished when a cry alerted them. Gunfire soon followed but a series of explosions cut it off. Apparently the first set of traps had been tripped. Then, through the smoke, a Tick Tank appeared. Then another. And another. CABAL wasn't going to rely on just cyborgs to suppress resistance. They opened fire, blowing apart the modules and other buildings. The mutants quickly made a run for the bridge. If they could get some of the tanks to follow, they'd at least weaken the pursuers. Wilhelm took aim and fired, blowing apart the lead tank. The others finally took notice and plowed after him. He didn't bother trying to stop the others and made a break for it. The tanks didn't seem to be in any hurry, even taking the time to blow a few more buildings. Once on the other side, he triggered the detonator and watched as the bridge supports blew out. The explosions rocked the structure, slamming the tanks into one another. Slowly, the bridge buckled and began falling. It smashed through the ice and the tanks quickly sank under their own weight. At least five had been on the bridge but Wilhelm could make out eight more on the other side. They needed to get out of here and fast.

Before anyone could move, the ground started shaking beneath them. Suddenly, dirt and ice erupted and rained down on them as something burst out from underground.

"APC!" Wilhelm shouted.

He tried to take aim but the debris wasn't giving him a chance to stay steady. The APC landed with a thud, driving forward right into one of the mutants. His cry was cut off as the drill struck him and ground him underneath the vehicle.

"Jadel!"

Wilhelm finally got a clear shot and let loose. The round shredded the drill and blew through the APC but didn't destroy it. Hatches on its side popped open and cyborgs climbed out. They opened fire immediately, nailing three more of Wilhelm's men. Another threw a grenade but ended up exposing himself to more chaingun fire. His body was cut to pieces and blood stained the snow around him. The explosion seemed to distract the cyborgs and Wilhelm took aim, blowing off a head. However, this fight was not in their favor. Forgotten soldiers were well armed but had poor body armor. In close combat with cyborgs, they didn't stand a chance. Another APC suddenly burst forth and offloaded even more of the monstrosities. Wilhelm ground his teeth but refused to back down. He took aim, his next round going through two cyborgs. Though they still stood, the gaping holes in their chests would at least slow them down.

A blast of heat suddenly washed over Wilhelm. He felt his clothes light on fire and dropped to the ground, trying to extinguish them. Before he knew it, a metal arm slammed into his face. The salty taste of blood was in his mouth but he couldn't move his head to look around. Burns covered his body but the cold snow quickly numbed the pain. Before Wilhelm could try and rise, a second blow knocked him down flat. Without his railgun, there was no way for them to escape, much less win. As he tried to move, Wilhelm found his thoughts start to fade. Whatever hit him must have been heavy. As his mind became less coherent, Wilhelm's thoughts began to wander. The last solid image he could make out was that of Grace, waiting for him to come home.

Primary Cyborg Processing Facility+

Clanking and grinding echoed in Wilhelm's mind. He couldn't think clearly at first, couldn't make sense of all the noise around him. His eyes felt tired and the moment they cracked open bluish light overwhelmed him. He immediately squeezed them shut, trying to focus.

"Subject reacting to divination procedure with minimal genetic degradation. Continue observation on subject's development for now."

The voice was husky and the sound of it grated at Wilhelm. Whatever it was, Wilhelm wasn't sure he wanted to find out. Suddenly a sharp pain stun him in his spine.

"Collecting nerve sample."

Whatever it was, it felt like his insides were being sucked out. Every nerve seemed to be on fire and finally his mind sharpened. His memories poured in and the chilling realization of where he was sunk in. Wilhelm screamed out, oblivious to the cracked dryness of his throat. He pulled at his restraints and jerked about, shifting the probe. That proved to be a mistake. The probe sunk deeper and sliced through even more flesh, renewing the pain.

"Subject conscious and resisting. Administering restraint procedure."

A massive jolt shocked Wilhelm and rendered him limp. His entire body seemed to stop responding. Mercifully, the electricity seemed to have rendered his nerves numb and he could no longer feel anything. The probe finished its job and pulled out. Wilhelm could feel the wound in his back and knew it would hurt like hell once feeling returned.

"Subject exhibiting accelerated cell regeneration. Will continue observation."

Wilhelm's mind was still clear enough to understand what that disembodied voice was saying. If his guess was right, he seemed to be healing. How the hell that massive gash in his back could be healing was beyond him, though he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Better to die than be some kind of experiment for this machine. As his thoughts rambled on, they slowly became more confused. Wilhelm didn't know if he had been administered some kind of sedative or his body was just burned out. Either way, he was losing conscious. It was something of a mixed blessing. While he could be blissfully unaware as he slept, it was only to awaken into this nightmare once more.

A sharp pain forced Wilhelm conscious. His eyes snapped open and he immediately regretted it. The sight around him was a horror beyond words. Instruments designed for god knows what were mounted, ready for use. He couldn't move his head, not if he wanted to risk shifting the needle plunged into his neck. Only shallow breaths could get through. Anything else would aggravate the pain.

"Blood sample retrieved."

The needle was plucked out with little fanfare and Wilhelm choked as the blood began bubbling out. Just as quickly, the wound seemed to seal itself and he could breathe normally again. He tested his restraints but didn't have any success there. A harsh sense of helplessness crept into his mind. He was always used to being able to fight back. Now, there was nothing he could do. Another arm came forth, this one equipped with a claw. It moved towards his arm and stopped just short of it.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Wilhelm's head snapped up to see a monitor light up. A blue face seemed to grow out of it with two black eyes staring at him. Blue spheres seemed to swirl in that darkness as they looked down at him.

"So you are the one who retrieved the second segment for me, Commander," the face said, smiling snidely. "I must congratulate you, for that was no easy task. Nod was never able to retrieve it, but you succeeded."

"CABAL," Wilhelm said, nearly coughing as his throat itched. "You piece of shit."

"Take care, commander. After all, your fate is in my hands."

Wilhelm laughed. "You don't even have hands. Why should I give a damn about you?"

Suddenly the entire room came to life. All the various instruments were off their racks and advanced menacingly. For a moment Wilhelm's eyes glazed over but he recovered quickly.

"So, are you so pathetic that you need to intimidate me to please your ego?"

The arms came to a stop as CABAL regarded Wilhelm. "You are very clever with words, for a human. However, that changes little. As you are at my mercy, you become a mere toy for my amusement. You need not be so comfortable to still be alive."

Something about those words alerted Wilhelm. Though the computer generated head gave little away, the words it spoke held a great deal of meaning.

"You want me alive," Wilhelm said.

"That is obvious," CABAL replied. "Why else would you still retain your independence? I do not require a mind to create a cyborg."

Wilhelm said nothing. His memories were surprisingly sharp and he had heard enough the last time around to know Tiberium had done something to him, something unusual. Whatever it was, CABAL seemed determined to keep him around long enough to figure out how it happened. That meant he had until then to figure out how to get the hell out of this place or at least destroy his own body if that proved impossible. There was no way he was going to become a cyborg and massacre his own brethren for this, thing.

"Since you do not care to be a conversationist, we will just have to proceed with your examination," CABAL said nonchalantly. "And I've ensured that it will be very pleasant. For me at least."

As the AI let out a coarse laugh, Wilhelm concluded that it was absolutely insane. No wonder the Brotherhood lost control of this thing. Then again, how they could have unleashed CABAL on the world without knowing what they'd done was beyond him. But that was long ago and his problems were in the present. The claw came forth once more and dug into his arm. Wilhelm winced but bit down a scream. It came out anyways when the arm pulled back, tearing out a piece of muscle. The movement was fast enough to snap it off but left a gaping hole in his arm. Greenish blood oozed out but was quickly cut off. Even as he watched, Wilhelm's body began to repair the damage. Despite the pain, Wilhelm could still concentrate. That must have been the accelerated cell regeneration he heard earlier.

"Muscle tissue sample retrieved," CABAL said. "Proceeding to next phase."

Suddenly, a chuckle escaped Wilhelm. Then, he lost complete control and burst out laughing. The outburst seemed to catch even CABAL off guard. The monitor seemed to stare at him, waiting for Wilhelm to either descend into madness or explain his behavior.

"Go ahead," Wilhelm taunted. "Cut me, bleed me, do whatever the fuck you want. But every bit of pain you subject me to only proves that I'm alive. I've experienced pain far greater than anything you can imagine. You're just a machine. And from the looks of it, a childish one. You enjoy inflicting pain, having no concept of restraint. All your posturing is to hide the fact that you fear your own insignificance. You're nothing, CABAL, and history will remember you as a footnote.

For a moment CABAL seemed to hesitate, as if unsure how to deal with someone who could resist his taunts. That passed quickly as he simply chose to ignore Wilhelm's words.

"Your body is extremely resilient. I will enjoy testing its limits."

A massive jolt of electricity cruised through Wilhelm and caused him to jerk about. To his surprise, feeling returned shortly and he looked up at CABAL once more. What once was capable of rendering him unconscious was now a mere pinprick. The AI stared back, as if considering its next course of action. The contest of will had begun.

GDI Daedalus Secondary Research Complex+

Elijah looked exceedingly grim as he escorted Grace down the corridors. He'd been the one to break the news to her, and the good Doctor had taken it surprisingly well. In fact, she was taking it too well. As such, Elijah refused to let Grace out of his sights for the time being. Not only had she lost her son, Grace now was facing the possibility her husband would be turned into a cyborg. GDI succeeded in defeating CABAL's forces at Colony Six, but there was no sign of Wilhelm. Elijah and the mutants conducted an exhaustive search of the corpses but came up empty handed. At that point, Elijah had been tempted to curse at Wilhelm for making him break the news to Grace. Now, he intended to make sure he didn't fail his best friend again.

The room they entered was full of scientists busy at work. However, they all respectfully nodded to Grace as she passed. When she reached the woman directing them, Dr. Boudreau paused and extended a hand.

"Dr. Rossignol."

"Dr. Boudreau."

"I apologize for asking you to come at a time like this, but the recent setbacks we've been dealt have seriously damaged our efforts. We need all the help we can get."

"Of course," Grace said flatly.

Gabriella regarded Grace but could understand why the mutant doctor acted like this. A person who suffered a double loss like her could not be blamed if they simply lost the will to live, yet here she was, determined to go on even if it meant suppressing her emotions.

"Before Tratos', assassination," Gabriella began, noticing the larger mutant stiffen, "he was examining a set of genetic markers that seemed to react to Tiberium. His original serum was based off that, but triggering them seemed to accelerate the mutation."

Grace nodded. "Tratos concluded that Tiberium seemed to activate those dormant sequences. As you know, Tiberium randomly breaks, rearranges, overwrites, and activates DNA. These particular sequences were thought to have no use even though they're consistently maintained during replication. However, because of the randomness, there was no guarantee Tiberium would activate them, so Tratos attempted to do it himself. That course of action failed."

"So did Tratos arrive at any other conclusions?" Gabriella asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

"Yes," Grace answered. "Those with a high number of these genes can actually stabilize the Tiberium mutation within them, as the increased number makes the 'hits' by Tiberium more likely. However, people who naturally posses these genes in sufficient quantity are exceedingly rare and there does not appear to be a way to use gene therapy to increase someone's count. Furthermore, Tiberium actually seems to replace part of this sequence, which may explain why us activating them results in failure, but Tiberium activating them produces positive results."

"I see. Well, that's something at least. But please, have a seat."

"Thank you."

Before Dr. Boudreau could continue, EVA's voice interrupted them. "Dr. Boudreau. General Cortez requests your presence for a mission briefing."

"Alright, EVA." Turning to Grace, Gabriella paused. "Would you like to sit in on this?"

Grace raised an eyebrow. "The general won't mind?"

"So long as you two are quiet, I doubt he'll notice. EVA, patch me through."

The screen lit up and two men appeared, one a three star general and the other a colonel. Elijah inhaled sharply at the sight of the colonel but a quick look from Grace kept him quiet.

"EVA, report," said the general.

"Using GDI and Nod scan data, we have pinpointed CABAL's core. Data traffic indicates that all commands are originating from this location."

"Right," the general said. "Now look at what we're up against. We can't get close, however, there are two auxiliary facilities that support the main base. A joint effort assault has planned. One by us, one by Nod. Dr. Boudreau, if you will."

"Although the operation on Colony Six was a relative success, CABAL is attacking civilian settlements. He kills the old and the infirm and takes the rest for consumption into his army. The Daedalus Team and I have implanted one of CABAL's cyborgs with a virus that will infect his production stations."

"Commander, your target area is a cyborg processing facility. We need you to get that cyborg into that complex."

"Yes. Once inside the facility, the modified cyborg can be interfaced with CABAL's system and infect the production cycle."

"Once you accomplish that, I want the entire area swept," Cortez finished. "Take that complex out completely."

The screen blinked out and the two men disappeared as Gabriella turned back to them. "Sorry for the interruption, but I thought the two of you would want to know how we're doing on the CABAL problem."

Elijah grunted. "That commander's the same one we met at Colony Six."

Gabriella nodded. "I know. Colonel Granger is one of our best and if anyone can stop CABAL, it's him."

"Let's hope so," said Elijah. "We didn't save his ass only to have him let us down again."

"Elijah."

"It's alright," Gabriella said. "Jack already feels guilty about letting your husband stay behind to cover him. We fully understand any anger directed at us."

"That anger will remain checked so long as GDI succeeds in avenging our dead," said Grace. "GDI has now failed in protecting two of our leaders. When the time comes, we demand the right to exact revenge on CABAL."

In previous conversations with Grace, Gabriella knew the mutant doctor to have a hard edge. Who wouldn't after having so many patients slip away? With the death of her mentor and now facing the possibility of her husband being a cyborg, Gabriella wasn't surprised to hear Grace like this. Yet Grace wasn't just voicing her own personal wish for revenge. As the new de facto leader of the Forgotten, Grace was speaking for mutants worldwide.

"I'm sure General Cortez has taken that into consideration. And while GDI needs all the help it can get, you must understand the reluctance of having your forces join us in battle."

"I understand, doctor. And I also understand that Wilhelm was instrumental in retrieving the second Tacitus segment, even though Tratos had just been assassinated and I was recovering from a miscarriage."

The implication was clear. Even though Wilhelm had plenty of reason to go off on a rampage, he had followed Granger's orders and conducted the mission in a professional manner.

"Shouldn't you be raising these points with General Cortez?" Gabriella asked.

"I have," said Grace. "Whether he'll be able to remember without someone else reminding him is another matter."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "You aren't giving Paul enough credit. If nothing else, he is a competent soldier and understands the practicalities of war."

"Such as allying with Nod?" Elijah put in.

"Elijah," Grace said. "Forgive me Dr. Boudreau, but my people's frustration with GDI is nearing the breaking point. I know this isn't the time to discuss them, but we all need to vent from time to time."

"I understand," said Dr. Boudreau. "But remember that CABAL is targeting everyone. Human, mutant, GDI, Nod, everyone. By taking out CABAL's primary cyborg manufacturing facility, we're cutting off his supply of troops and saving more lives."

"Yes you are," Grace agreed.

"So have some faith in us. And consider this as revenge for the death of your husband."

A glint flashed through Grace's eyes and Gabriella froze for a moment. She was expecting another outburst but Grace simply adjusted her glasses and spoke calmly.

"It's a start. But we have other work to do. Shall we, Dr. Boudreau?"

"Right, of course."

Despite being Tratos' student, Gabriella was starting to realize Grace was a completely different personality. Tratos rarely showed the hatred he must have held against Nod for all the atrocities the Brotherhood had committed against his people. Grace seemed to have no qualms about making her distaste known. Yet so far it didn't seem to interfere with her work. Despite this, Gabriella wasn't sure how long Grace would hold out. Something really needed to happen to pull her out of this state. Too bad miracles couldn't be ordered on demand.

Primary Cyborg Processing Facility+

Wilhelm was in a self induced semi-conscious state when the alarms went off. He continued feigning unconsciousness but was prepared to either fully knock himself out or wake fully depending on the situation.

"Systems error, systems error, systems error."

That message continued looping, though Wilhelm had no idea why CABAL needed audio alerts like that. Suddenly, the shackles opened and he dropped down to the floor. Wilhelm's eyes snapped open and he landed gently on his feet. The possibility that this was just CABAL testing him to see his abilities crossed his mind, but he didn't care. He would take any chance he got. Fortunately, CABAL seemed to have forgone closed doors in his facility, possibly to make sure screams could echo throughout the building. He'd heard enough of them for a lifetime.

Alarms continued to blare but Wilhelm tuned them out, listening for any cyborgs. Patrols of two stalked the corridors and he doubted he could take them down. Better to outright avoid them. He moved quickly but cautiously, looking around for anything to use. Weapons components for cyborgs were lined up on the assembly line but none were loaded. Off to the side, a series of exotic looking devices caught his eye. Plasma cannons. Weapons used by cyborg commandos, some of the most powerful monstrosities Nod ever produced. He looked them over but they too lacked power. Or did they? A quick search turned up a series of power canisters. Apparently this was the final assembly point for these weapons. He even turned up full chaingun cartridges. His chances of survival just went up.

Taking advantage of whatever he could get his hands on, Wilhelm outfitted himself and moved on again. The weapons he carried were surprisingly light and Wilhelm almost regretted only taking three chainguns and two plasma cannons. It wasn't long before he came across a pair of cyborgs, slumped down and inactive. Quick bursts from the chaingun smashed their heads. At least one patrol wouldn't be giving Wilhelm trouble if CABAL managed to fix whatever brought this place to a halt. Once the echoes from his burst died out, Wilhelm became aware of just how quiet everything was. In fact, it was so quiet, he swore he could hear distant cries. Wilhelm immediately set off towards them. After enduring everything CABAL could think up for who knew how long, Wilhelm wasn't about to let anyone else suffer a similar fate.

The crews grew louder, grating at Wilhelm. They were soon mixed with sounds of whimpering and crying, further enraging Wilhelm. They reminded him too much of all the suffering he'd seen. He broke into a run and quickly arrived at the source. A massive blast door was in his way, apparently to keep the people inside trapped.

"Is anyone in there!" Wilhelm shouted.

The crying stopped and silence fell. Wilhelm didn't blame them. Who could believe there was someone free in this hellhole?

"Is someone there?" a feminine voice called out.

"Quiet," another voice hissed. "We don't know what's going on."

"But they could be here to save us!" the first voice protested.

"Are you clear of the door!" Wilhelm called back.

"Yes!"

Stepping back, Wilhelm took aim with the plasma cannon and fired. The superheated sphere splashed over the blast door, melting right through. Once the metal had cooled, Wilhelm stepped in to find over a dozen people huddled together, a mix of mutants and humans. They weren't being restrained in any way, but then again, CABAL probably didn't need to keep them tied up.

"You all okay?" Wilhelm asked.

A woman nodded and when she spoke, Wilhelm recognized her as the one who answered him. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, but I don't intend on staying here," Wilhelm said. "Who here knows how to fight?"

Several of the mutants stood, as did two or three of the humans. Wilhelm handed out his spare weapons and nodded to the group. "Let's get the fuck out of here before whatever this is ends."

"You're Wilhelm, aren't you?" a mutant asked.

Looking over, he nodded. "Sorry, but I don't recognize you."

"That's fine," the mutant replied. "But we all know you. We looked up to you before."

"And who did you look up to before being forced here?"

"Elijah. He sort of inherited your position."

Wilhelm nodded. "He's a good man. But let's not linger. I don't know how long we'll have free reign."

"There's one more thing," the mutant said. "Last we heard, your wife was doing fine."

Wilhelm's face softened and even the humans noticed the change. After giving the mutant a pat on the shoulder, Wilhelm led them out of the room. Now he had another reason to get out of this alive. He needed to keep a promise.

GDI Forward Base+

"Commander Granger, artillery is in position to take down the SAM sites."

"Good," Granger said. "And our bombers?"

"We have target resolutions for CABAL's refineries and silos. Once those go, he won't have any more raw materials to churn out more units."

"Alright. But for the love of God, do not hit the cyborg production facility. There may still be survivors."

"Yes sir."

"Then initiate bombardment."

Through his binoculars, Granger watched as the Juggernauts let loose. Counterbattery fire wasn't long in coming but with the SAM sites out, nothing protected them from the Orca fighters tearing down at them. The bombers were quick to follow and fiery death smashed into the refineries and silos. Greenish fireballs burst into the air, detonating the crystals and cracking the ground. Shockwaves riped up the earth and mini-earthquakes shook the base. Twisted pieces of flaming metal and concrete chunks smashed into the parked harvesters, setting off another chain reaction. Explosions magnified by the Tiberium cratered the pavement and the fires engulfed anything too close. By the time the Orcas were out of munitions, an entire quadrant of CABAL's base was ablaze. The effect was quite spectacular and with one blow Granger had rendered this base unable to resist his next incursions.

Orca Carryalls flew over, each one carrying a Titan. An entire armored company was in the air but with the AA defenses shattered, every single one made it through. CABAL was trying to rally what forces he could, but the combination of the virus and the destruction of its Tiberium infrastructure rendered any effort futile. All that was left was to finish the fight.

Primary Cyborg Processing Facility+

Bodies tumbled as the ground seemed to fall out. Fortunately, no one with weapons let loose and they stumbled about, clinging to anything or anyone. Screams were quickly drowned out by explosions and shockwaves, only to pierce their ears once the shaking stopped. Once the people screaming realized they were now the center of attention, they stopped, looking away embarrassed.

"Something's definitely gone wrong for that machine," a mutant began.

"And anything bad for him is good for us," said Wilhelm. "Let's get out of here."

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" another mutant chipped in as they began moving.

"I'm thinking GDI's finally gotten around to blowing this place to hell," Wilhelm replied, "and I don't want to be here when they start dropping god knows what on here."

The others needed no further encouragement and scrambled after Wilhelm. When they finally emerged, they were greeted by a desolate landscape. Explosions continued to pound the base as fires blazed out of control. Cyborgs crawled forward, trying to beat back a company of determined GDI Titans. The constant bombardment from artillery stalled their efforts, though Tick Tanks drove right through the high explosive rounds. The Titans were slowly being forced back to a sheer cliff wall, even if the cyborgs were paying heavily for every inch gained.

Despite the roar of cannons and rumble of engines, Wilhelm picked out a high pitched screech from up high. Looking up, he caught sight of a glint and watched as Orca fighters dive bombed the advancing tanks. Missiles launched nearly vertical took little time to smash into the tanks. The force of impact drove right through the top armor and exploded inside the tanks. The blasts tore open the tanks, leaving smoldering hulks in their wake. The Titans immediately took the initiative, blowing apart any cyborg in range. Once clear of the cliff, a flight of Orca Carryalls appeared and landed another dozen Titans with an equal number of Wolverines.

"Stay back," Wilhelm said. "We don't need the cyborgs seeing us."

"Too late!"

The warning almost came too late as well as a shot blew off a chunk of concrete by Wilhelm's head. He spun around and fired, blasting the cyborg. The plasma melted through its armor and boiled the flesh. Chaingun fire chewed out the exposed internals and put down the cyborg for good. Even before it fell, more gunfire peppered their position. The survivors hunkered down and returned fire, trying to last long enough for GDI to win this battle. They had several advantages, from fighting in a highly defensible position to powerful weapons in the plasma cannons. However, the numbers were heavily tilted against them.

"Short bursts!" Wilhelm shouted. "We don't have enough ammo for this!"

As if to emphasize this, his plasma cannon shuddered and burned out. Wilhelm threw it aside, forced to watch as the others fought. They weren't going to make it like this.

"Get back inside," he ordered. When the others hesitated, he grabbed the closest one and threw him back in. "Move it!"

As the survivors raced back in, he took one's chaingun and followed in the rear. They retreated to a tight corridor and Wilhelm had them take positions. At least here, the cyborgs would be forced to come in one by one and they had a chance to outlast the battle. It didn't take long for the first cyborg to appear and Wilhelm let loose. The rounds splattered over its armor and a few even smashed into its head. Another gunner fired, blowing off an arm but the thing still advanced. A third burst from Wilhelm punched through its head and the thing slumped and collapsed. There were plenty right behind it.

"Fire in the hole!" a voice cried out.

Before he knew what was happening, a hole burst open in the lead cyborg's chest and it staggered. Several seconds later, another shower of guts and metal exploded and an entire line of cyborgs fell forward. A few twitched but quickly drew fire from whoever their rescuers were. Once both sides were fairly certain all the machines were down for good, they stepped forward. A GDI colonel wielding a railgun rifle climbed through the mess and approached them. Other GDI infantry could be seen behind him, pulling out the corpses. He stopped before Wilhelm and cleared his visor. Wilhelm blinked in surprise.

"You son of a bitch. Wilhelm, is that you?"

"I'd prefer you insult me and not my mother," Wilhelm replied with a wiry grin. "And I believe you owe me a drink."

Granger burst out laughing and to Wilhelm's surprise embraced him in a bear hug. Even if he was shorter than the mutant, Granger had a powerful grip. Wilhelm returned the embrace and patted the colonel on the back. Once Granger released him and stepped back, Wilhelm could see the genuine relief on Granger's face.

"Don't you ever, ever do something like that again," Granger said. "I nearly had a stroke trying to figure out how I was going to explain to my bosses you were likely dead."

This time it was Wilhelm's turn to laugh. "Trust me Colonel, I won't. You're forgetting I have to face my wife now."

"Haha. Let's get all of you patched up. I assume you'll have a very interesting tale to tell."

"I will," said Wilhelm. "But right now, I want to pass out from from too much alcohol. Let's get the fuck out of here."

When they emerged from the processing plant, the base was more or less in ruins. GDI infantry scoured the area for anything still moving, putting bullets into cyborg heads to make sure they were down and blowing up any vehicle that looked mostly intact. About two dozen troops immediately flanked Wilhelm and the survivors, escorting them to an awaiting Orca transport. The entire thing felt almost surreal for Wilhelm. After overcoming so many odds, he was still alive. He was going home. He was going to see Grace again. Tears welled up in his eyes and he let them flow down his cheeks. He'd been given another shot at life and he wouldn't waste it.

End

I'm not very good at ending things and I'm actually somewhat dissatisfied with my writing at this point. Maybe it's because of my rush to finish this project before I lost interest or something else, but I feel I could have done better. Anyways, looking over the past chapters, I've noticed several inconsistencies. I'll be doing a cleanup that hopefully won't take too long and then submitting this to something else. We'll see how it goes.

Z98


End file.
